CrowdProperty

CrowdProperty is a UK-based financial technology company operating as a peer-to-peer lending platform specializing in residential property development finance for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) developers. The company was founded in 2013 by Mike Bristow, Andrew Hall, and Simon Zutshi, who were part-time property developers frustrated with the inefficiencies of traditional finance. The platform officially began lending in 2014.

The founders brought together a diverse set of skills to address what they saw as a broken market. Mike Bristow, the CEO, has a background in strategy consulting for major corporations and private equity funds, along with an MBA from London Business School. Andrew Hall is a Chartered Surveyor with over 35 years of experience in the property industry, having developed millions of square feet of property himself. Simon Zutshi is a long-time property investor who became financially independent through his portfolio and founded the Property Investors Network in 2003 to educate other investors.

CrowdProperty's business model connects property developers seeking funding with a diverse pool of capital from retail, high-net-worth, and institutional investors. Revenue is generated through arrangement fees of 1.5-3.0% and a lending margin charged to the borrower. The platform conducts rigorous, expertise-led due diligence on all projects, leveraging a combination of its in-house property experts and proprietary technology, including machine learning models, to assess applications. All loans are secured with a first legal charge against the property, providing a layer of security for investors. The firm's focus is exclusively on the SME developer market, aiming to help solve the UK's housing undersupply by providing faster and more transparent access to capital than traditional banks.

Since its launch, CrowdProperty has funded hundreds of millions of pounds worth of property projects, facilitating the construction of thousands of homes across the UK. The company has received numerous accolades, including being featured in the Deloitte Fast 50 and the Financial Times' FT1000 list of Europe's fastest-growing companies. It became fully authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2017. In 2021, the company expanded its model internationally, launching CrowdProperty Australia.

Keywords: property development finance, peer-to-peer lending, proptech, fintech, real estate crowdfunding, SME developer loans, bridging finance, property investment, development funding, first-charge security, residential development, property finance platform, alternative finance, real estate investment, marketplace lending, UK property market, construction finance, property investors network, housing development, specialist lender