P2P Money Blog

Nicola Horlick, has announced her intention to launch Money&Co, a new crowdlending business aiming to connect investors looking for a better rate of interest on their cash with businesses seeking finance.  Set to launch in early 2014, Money&Co will provide businesses with an alternative route to finance by bypassing bank lending, which has been falling since 2009.

With a well known name - no offence to Giles Andrews of Zopa or any of the other CEO's - entering the P2P market, this will generate additional press coverage to the sector, which is more than doubling every year. It will be interesting to see how Money&Co will position itself within the P2P sector and how they can compete with the current leaders in this sector such as Funding Circle and ThinCats.

Here is the press release which confusingly refers to "crowdfunding" which is quite different from "crowdlending":

Nicola Horlick, the well-known city investor and business woman, has announced her intention to launch Money&Co, a new crowdfunding business aiming to connect investors looking for a better rate of interest on their cash with businesses seeking finance.

Set to launch in early 2014, Money&Co will provide businesses with an alternative route to finance by bypassing bank lending, which has been falling since 2009. According to monthly Bank of England statistics, lending to SMEs was down at least 3% each month on a year-on-year basis.

Nicola Horlick, CEO of Money&Co, said:

“Crowdfunding is growing very quickly and this provides a great opportunity to offer both businesses and investors something they aren’t getting right now: accessible finance and good interest rates. As we head out of these challenging economic conditions, Money&Co will be well-placed to support business growth and reward individuals looking for a better return on their money.”

The online platform will enable investors to finance a loan, which will be repaid with interest. Investors will be able to select the kind of business they want to invest in, based on factors such as geographic location or industry. By providing a new entry point to access finance, investors will be able to play a direct role in supporting UK business at this crucial time for the economy.

Money&Co is the newest platform to enter the non-bank and alternative finance sector, which according to innovation charity Nesta has the potential to account for £12.3billion of loans within a decade.

The business will be headed by Horlick, who has 30 years of experience as a City investor and business manager. She has set up and managed a number of investment businesses, holding top positions at Mercury Asset Management, Morgan Grenfell, SG Asset Management and Bramdean Asset Management LLP, which she set up with Sir Derek Higgs in 2004. Horlick recently raised £150,000 for a new business venture through an equity crowdfunding site, which confirmed her view that crowdfunding is going to be an important force in the financial world going forward.

Nicola Horlick continued:

“Our platform will let people lend to businesses at a rate agreed by both parties. It is a smarter way for businesses to get the capital they need and for people to get a better return on their cash. At the moment, banks are not doing enough for credit-worthy businesses. Money&Co will bring together good businesses that need to borrow to expand, with people who want to save at a more attractive rate than the banks offer.

“By providing cash for companies through Money&Co, the public can play a role in supporting UK business growth. Recent figures suggest that the UK economy is beginning to grow again, but it is vital that companies have access to borrowing in order to maintain this momentum.”