ThinCats

ThinCats was launched in 2010 and has been successful in attracting a number of high worth lenders and companies looking to borrow £50,000 or above.

Unique selling point

ThinCats targets only secured lending, so the estimated bad debt rate is lower than other peer-to-business providers.  Defaults should be recoverable against the asset, although this can take some time to be resolved.  In addition you are able to lend money on ThinCats through a self invested personal pension with tax advantages or via an investment fund.

Competition

ThinCats is competing with Funding Circle in the peer-to-business arena and currently has a 11% and growing share of this market.  It would also be competing against high street banks and venture capitalists.

Comments

The minimum loan size of £1000 puts ThinCats out of the range of most lenders, as allowing for 2% diversification lenders on ThinCats should be investing at least £50k.

General	Communication		6/10
	Ease of Web Site		5/10
	Innovation		7/10
Lending	Lending Rates		9/10
	Fees		10/10
	Access to Funds		5/10
	Bad Debt		6/10
Borrowing	Loan Rates		6/10
	Speed of Loan		7/10
	Fees		4/10
Overall			6.6/10

For an in-depth analysis and comparable statistics please refer to the comparisons of the peer-to-peer companies.

In summary ThinCats has provided lenders with high returns and companies with the capital they need to operate and expand their businesses.  Only lenders with considerable funds are able to use ThinCats due to the £1000 per loan minimum, but for those that can afford this, ThinCats is an excellent lending opportunity.

Bad debt warning - bad debt can take months to years to materialise, and therefore the actual bad debt figure may not be fully representative, especially when a company's loan book is growing at a significant rate (for example for the first two years Zopa bad debt was 0.05%)

ThinCats review written by Ian Gurney, last updated on 14^th September 2013