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The Alternative Finance universe is expanding and evolving, but for most small and medium sized businesses in search of funding, there are two basic options – namely borrowing or selling equity via a crowdfunding platform. Borrowing via an online platform is the most popular of the two, at least in terms of the sums…
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‘Private debt’ is not a term that has much resonance outside the financial services industry. Unlike, say, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending, the concept doesn’t attract much coverage in the mainstream press and, as yet, it probably isn’t on the radar screens of the majority of small and medium sized business owners. And yet, along with…
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2017 marked another year of growth for the Alternative Finance industry – a sector that now not only includes crowdfunding and platform lending, but arguably a whole new fund-raising category in the shape of initial coin offerings (ICOs). But what do last year’s figures tell us about the industry’s prospects in 2018. And perhaps more…
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Many businesses are already familiar with the process of applying for a term loan from a High Street bank. On the basis of ‘better the devil you know,’ it is therefore tempting to assume that the most straightforward route to agreeing a debt facility is to approach an incumbent bank or one of its major…
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What does the future hold for the Alternative Finance industry? Or to be more precise, after a year (2017) in which Altfi consolidated its position as a mainstream funding option for SMEs, how will the market develop in the year ahead? To some extent, the direction of travel is clear. In December 2017, the…
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Since the launch of the first Peer to Peer and Equity Crowdfunding platforms, alternative finance has not only been providing new options for businesses seeking capital, it has also been redefining the web of relationships that link companies, investors and intermediaries. In broad terms, the various platforms that have emerged over the past five…
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Marketplace lending is now an established segment of the UK’s business finance ecosystem, but until relatively recently it has perhaps been considered as an ‘alternative’ solution – something that sits outside the mainstream. It’s a perception that may be changing, as debt platforms take an increasingly large share of the SME lending market. …
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Platform-based lending has undoubtedly opened up the UK’s corporate finance market. Five years ago, a small company seeking debt funding would have – almost by default – gravitated towards one or more High Street banks, or perhaps a specialist business lender, recommended by a broker.…
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2018 is only a few days old but already the UK’s financial services industry is getting to grips with not one, but two major changes in the regulatory landscape. The headline grabber – which came into force on January 3 – is MiFID II, a European Union directive aimed at offering greater protection to…
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Surprising as it may seem, reality TV show, Dragon’s Den has been gracing UK screens for around twelve years. Individual dragons have come and gone, but the format remains largely unchanged, with presenter Evan Davis providing an additional sense of continuity. Although it is…
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