Montello Bridging Finance founders Christiaan Faes and Ian Thomas have launched LendInvest – a peer-to-peer loan trading platform, writes Robyn Hall.

The platform, currently in a soft launch phase, allows investors to invest into new loans and will create an online market for completed loans.

Montello is one of the leading short term real estate lenders in London.

Faes is from a legal background having practised as a lawyer in the City with Clifford Chance and then in-house with Deutsche Bank. Thomas meanwhile is a qualified chartered surveyor, who prior to Montello held senior positions with SEGRO and Ballymore Property Group.

The two co-founders have recently recruited David Serafini as managing director for the business.

Serafini has held a number of positions in the City and was previously an ex-IT analyst with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Faes and Thomas have been working with a team of programmers for ‘about a year’ on developing the online loan trading system.

Whilst the LendInvest crowdfunding platform is only in soft-launch, there have already been a number of deals that have been done on the platform, totalling over £3.5m.

Serafini said: “In an environment where investors get next to zero return for cash in the bank it is understandable that sophisticated investors are looking at sound alternative investments.

“LendInvest allows investors to invest in loans that are secured against real estate and to obtain superior returns.

“There are a number of peer-to-peer platforms that are out there but this is the only platform in the UK that is for originating and funding new residential and commercial loans and acts as an after-market for trading completed loans.

“The LendInvest platform really is a revolutionary step for the UK real estate mortgage market.”