The BridgeCrowd

manutdsc

Hi

Has anyone ever had any dealings with the BridgeCrowd, a peer to peer lending company?

They have a really good cashback deal at the moment, where you get £250 if you lend £5,000 for 6 months, which I could afford to do. Moreover, the loan is secured against property and to me they look like a company worth investing in.

jimjames

Can you explain the basis for thinking they're a company worth investing in? How is your money secured on a property?

manutdsc

I would post the link but can't since I'm a newbie, but according to their website, they've been trading since 1998, 0 capital losses in that period. If the borrower defaults, then the property is sold. I might be a newbie on here and only 22, but I have been doing p-2-p lending since I was 18 for 4 years.

Futuristic

Social Money Ltd that runs this has only been incorporated since 2008 so trading since 1998 is bs.

Owner(s) do not have have any noticeable history/backing/large financial background so I personally wouldn't touch it.

Jonbvn

OP,

There are several P2P companies that allow you to invest in property/bridging loans.

Check this forum for further info:
http://p2pindependentforum.com/

Archi_Bald

Futuristic wrote: »

Social Money Ltd that runs this has only been incorporated since 2008 so trading since 1998 is bs.

They seem to be one of those outfits that have a need for various trading names. According to the FCA Register, in which they have an interim permission, they also trade as

Www.Thestudentbank.Co.Uk (apparently that website will be "launching in stages in 2013-14")

thestudentfinancecompany.co.uk (not an active website)

payl8r (that appears to be linked somehow to http://www.v12retailfinance.com/

thebridgecrowd.com

https://www.bodaskins.com, https://www.bodaskins.co.uk - that looks like a clothes store

http://www.loft-interiors.co.uk - and that's a furniture store

Too many pies for my taste, and I wouldn't deal with a company that limps along on an interim FCA permission.

ChesterDog

"...according to their website..."

nippy1

Does anyone have a bargepole handy please?

TheTracker

There is a thread on P2PIndependentForum about the enterprise and the rep gives a clear, if less than reassuring, history of the company and trading experience. I won't link it here for etiquette but I'm sure you can find it easily.

It seems like a solid family run company trying to leverage P2P without jumping in too deep.

On MSE you generally find threads about P2P quickly descend into criticisms related to the increased risk, which is odd because the publicised returns are clearly labelled as the result of accepting just that risk. There is a real discussion to be had on where the risk/return of p2p sits against other asset classes but it's rarely covered here despite the members, generally, being sophisticated investors. Nevertheless, the trick with P2P is understanding the risk/return profiles of different providers both in terms of the loans they handle and the platform itself.

In terms of the BridgeCrowd, it isn't for me.

DiggerUK

How so many, have learned so little from 2007, still bemuses me.
All p2p platforms do is sell loans on, to get the risk off their backs and on to anybody who's 'face they can rip off'

None of these platforms returns are that much to shout about anyway. And none of them are FSCS/FSA protected. Hell fire, you'd be safer with a financial adviser

'Peer to Peer'.......sounds so cuddly..._

Jogle

Futuristic wrote: »

Social Money Ltd that runs this has only been incorporated since 2008 so trading since 1998 is bs.

It was incorporated on 2 May 2012 but the filed accounts show that it was dormant in the period to 31 March 2013.

Also Companies House gave notice of striking off in August 2015. That was probably due to accounts not being filed; they were later filed but were almost 8 months late. Would you trust a company to look after your money if they can't even file accounts in time?