Relendex, the world’s first web-based peer-to-peer commercial property lending exchange, is launching in the UK.

Relendex is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Sam Rosen and Michael Lynn and was created to address what they describe as “an entrenched problem”: due to liquidity constraints, banks are increasingly unwilling or unable to provide finance against high-quality investment properties.

Rosen and Lynn believe borrowers are currently finding the traditional loan process increasingly difficult with overly expensive loans, slow decision-making from banks and refusals on even high quality property and deals.

The Relendex exchange claims to provide a solution: it matches borrowers with lenders who are each willing to provide parts of a loan which are fixed interest and secured against income-producing commercial property.

Lenders lend on retail, offices, industrial, leisure and some residential properties with loans usually ranging from £500,000 to £5 million.

All loans are expertly originated, evaluated and monitored by the real estate arm of a leading international investment bank to ensure borrower and lender confidence in the exchange.

Thus, Relendex offers borrowers the benefit of immediate lender commitment based on full disclosure, disintermediating the banks and gaining swift access to affordable debt which suits their financing needs.

Relendex is led by a highly experienced and well-respected team including head of lending and former head of banking of NM Rothschild, Peter Johns and Mark Shipman, founder of Michael Elliott LLP, a London-based boutique commercial property investment advisory practice.

Michael Lynn, chief executive of Relendex, said: “Relendex was conceived to provide a simple solution to a major problem.

“With the banking sector all but moribund, property owners cannot satisfactorily refinance high quality real estate assets. Meanwhile, potential lenders are becoming frustrated at the lack of returns on traditional investment and asset classes.

“We’re solving this by bringing lenders and borrowers directly together in an open, transparent and trustworthy online exchange.

“Essentially we are enabling borrowers to gain access to a liquid, high quality market place for debt, creating a virtuous circle of high quality capital which enables them to leverage growth based on a stable financial platform.

“And we won’t stop there: our ambition is to become the eBay of commercial property lending.”

The peer to peer lending market in the UK is growing exponentially. The UK government has recently committed £30m to leading P2P exchanges as part of the Business Finance Partnership; loan volumes increased by 90% in 2012 and loans matched are forecast to exceed £400m-500m in 2013.

Relendex is now inviting applications for refinancing and financing well-let retail, office, industrial and some residential investment properties throughout the UK. The exchange is unable to assist with funding for development or unlet properties.