LendInvest sees lending rise by a third annually and confirms £180m Lloyds’ injection

The specialist lender and property investment platform provider said this rise to £2.43bn was prompted by growth across all of its lending products. 

Compared to 31 March 2022, which is the start of the lender’s financial year, lending has risen by 13 per cent. 

The lender’s funds under management, which comprise committed and deployed capital, increased by a fifth year on year to £3.44bn. This was also a 17 per cent rise since March. 

LendInvest said it currently had “more than £950m of lending headroom”, up from £793m in March, which would support its growth in the medium term. 

Lloyds partnership 

In September, Lloyds Bank entered into a £180m partnership with LendInvest, which will see it bolster the expansion of its buy-to-let business and securitisation programme. 

It also upsized the account it manages on the behalf of J.P Morgan from £725m to £1bn. The lender said this reflected its strategy of optimising its funds under management, while increasing the proportion of third-party managed assets and strengthening its asset management business model. 

“Investor appetite remains strong and we expect to complete a number of additional transactions in the second half of the current financial year,” its update said. 

These updates follow LendInvest’s fourth securitisation in May which comprised £270m of prime buy-to-let mortgages and the issue of its third bond in August, which raised £38m. 

Economic outlook 

LendInvest noted the short-term uncertainty around macroeconomic conditions but said it remained able to respond quickly to market movements due to its technology. This has allowed the lender to reprice products appropriately while remaining in the market. 

It has also tightened its credit appetite “to protect investor returns given the heightened risk of falling property prices”.   

While its growth in lending was in line with market expectations during the first half of the year, the rate of growth particularly in buy-to-let is expected to reduce in the second half. In response, LendInvest will lessen its growth in operational expenditure. 

It now expects its profit before tax for the full year to be in line with 2021, adding: “We have taken this cautious approach mindful of the significant difficulties in short term forecasting given the economic and market backdrop.” 

LendInvest said it was still confident about meeting its growth targets as its platform technology enabled it to adapt and launch products quickly. 

Still on track for growth 

Rod Lockhart (pictured), chief executive of LendInvest, said business had grown across all areas, notably in buy-to-let, bridging and development. 

He said the lender was also still on track to launch a specialist homeowner product later this year. 

Lockhart added: “Looking ahead, we are acutely aware of the disruption in the UK mortgage market, which is affecting confidence and for the moment, applications for new mortgages have slowed across the market. Recent market dislocation has demonstrated the flexibility and speed to market capability of our platform.  

“This provides us with a competitive edge, flexibility, and proven risk management capabilities, which in addition to the size of our addressable markets and our strong financial position, gives us confidence in our long-term prospects.” 

LendInvest will publish its full half-year results on 30 November.