Rebuildingsociety.com: Peer-to-peer lending and borrowing

Rebuildingsociety.com is a peer-to-peer lending platform looking to change the face of finance. The company arranges commercial loans to businesses through their community of lenders who want to support the growth of companies. By bypassing the banks, rebuildingsociety.com offer fast access to finance for businesses, and help peer-to-peer lenders make informed decisions.

Read more to find out if rebuildingsociety.com are the right peer-to-peer finance platform for you.

Who are rebuildingsociety.com?

Rebuildingsociety.com opened up for applications in 2012, with the first transaction completed in February 2013. One of the founding principles was that people want transparency, trust and purpose from financial services. By connecting businesses and lenders, rebuildingsociety.com allows various stakeholders to get a vested interest in the businesses success. For this reason, rebuildingsociety.com believe they can provide a better alternative to traditional lenders for everyone.

Warning: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may not get back the money you invest. Please ensure you understand the risks.

How does it work?

As a lender, the process is fairly straightforward:

• Register: fill in some basic information for background checks.
• Transfer: once your account is approved, you need to transfer funds into your account.
• Lend: browse the marketplace and lend on live loans that suit your own criteria (e.g. size or risk)
• Grow: 48 hours after a loan has been accepted, you will start earning interest on your funds.

As a borrower, the process is slightly more complex:

• Register: fill in some basic information for background checks, and submit your borrowing requirements.
• Approval: rebuildingsociety.com will review your claim, taking usually 2-5 days.
• Next step: Rebuildingsociety.com will put your borrow request live on the marketplace if you are approved, or will ask you for extra information if not.
• Acceptance: after the auction closes, you have 7 days to accept the loan.
• Grow: Once the load is accepted, the funds are transferred to you and you can start investing to grow your business.

Benefits to lenders

As a lender, you can chose how much you want to lend and what interest rate you would live to receive. You are also encouraged to engage with your borrowers to create a mutually beneficial relationship. Benefits to lenders include:

• control of lending decisions
• decide the rate of interest and the amount to lend
• Detailed information about the borrower to help you make an informed decision
• Vetting, legal documentation, deal management and security
• Can manage risk by spreading investment across different loans
• No sign up fees and no commitment to make loans

Benefits to borrowers

As a borrower, you can get access to a network of investors and loans at competitive rates. A loan through rebuildingsociety.com comes with a group of stakeholders with vested interest in the firm, so the support is more than just financial. Benefits to borrowers include:

• Access to an investor network
• Network of lenders with interest to see the business succeed
• Access to investments from £25,000 to £250,000
• Loan terms range from 6 months to 5 years
• No fees on early repayment
• Reapply for another loan after 6 months of successful repayments
• Apply for a loan without assets as security
• Accept applications from any UK business

Criteria

To apply to borrow through rebuildingsociety.com, you need to meet a certain set of criteria, these include:

• 2 years of filed accounts
• Up-to-date management accounts
• No outstanding County Court Judgements
• Asset or debenture security on loans over £50,000

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is rebuilingsociety.com regulated?

  Yes, rebuildingsociety.com is regulated by the FCA.

• What kind of loans are available?

  Rebuildingsociety.com offer loans for £25,000-£250,000, for terms of 6-60 months.

  The types of loan they offer are either Unsecured or Secured. Unsecured loans require personal guarantees from directors, and are only available for loans up to £50,000.

  Secured loans are required for amounts above £50,000, and can be secured by either assets or debenture.

• Should I seek professional advice before I lend?

  If I you are not a professional investor or institution, you should seek appropriate advice from a professional adviser about lending through peer-to-peer platforms.