ArchOver drives UK expansion in Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire

New regional hub in Hatfield will support growth of regional entrepreneurial SMEs with P2P loans

London, UK – 7 May 2019 – ArchOver, the P2P business lending platform, is expanding its presence in the UK with a new office in Hatfield. The regional hub will provide successful businesses in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire with P2P loans to fund growth.

SMEs have received too little support from the Government, especially outside London – and ArchOver is pushing back. Its founders recognised the potential of the UK’s hard-working enterprises when it started trading back in 2014. Opening this regional office will enable ArchOver to position itself to connect local businesses with the funding they find difficult to access now.

ArchOver’s Hatfield office will cater specifically to businesses in the Hertfordshire-Bedfordshire area, facilitating finance that works for them with a deep understanding of their individual needs and local situation. In 2018, Grant Thornton said that Hertfordshire SMEs need to focus more on raising finance – ArchOver’s presence will help them do just that.

This expansion is the latest in a series for ArchOver’s growing network, with headquarters in London and a Midlands presence established in Birmingham in October 2018. The company has facilitated close to £100m in funding for UK businesses – and that figure will continue this momentum as it increases its presence across the UK.

Leading the office will be Dugald J. Carlean, an experienced corporate finance professional – who has lived in Harpenden for over 17 years. Prior to joining ArchOver, he held numerous senior positions across the UK SME investment banking space, providing funding services across various sectors. With over 25 years in finance, Carlean has a firm appreciation of the funding issues and wider challenges SMEs face. He brings a deep knowledge of the challenges and opportunities involved in SME funding in the area.

Commenting on the expansion, Carlean said: “The Government did little to support the SME sector in the Spring Budget Statement. It’s a tough time to be a smaller business, but the spirit of entrepreneurialism is rich in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The region is a major hub for the UK SME economy, with 98,000 small-to-medium firms operating in sectors as diverse as pharma, fintech, construction, life sciences and advanced engineering.

“ArchOver’s new office is at the heart of commercial activity in the Hatfield Business Park and will provide a platform to inject much-needed finance into that already thriving landscape. I’m excited to be part my home region’s growth – and to lead this expansion of ArchOver’s existing successful business model.”

ArchOver CEO Angus Dent concluded: “Too many companies make the mistake of seeing the world through a ‘London-only’ lens. This country is full of fast-growing, sustainable businesses looking for supportive funding to help them grow – something that neither the Government nor the banks seem to understand. Our new office in Hatfield will help local companies get access to the cash they need to grow. While the banks continue to evacuate the SME space, we’re investing in the future of entrepreneurial business in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.”  [ENDS]

About ArchOver

 

ArchOver is a peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending platform, connecting businesses requiring finance with investors seeking an alternative asset class for their investment portfolio. ArchOver is approaching £100m of funding to UK businesses, having paid over £5.5m in interest and delivering lender returns of up to 11% p.a..

“We are helpful, focused and flexible. While technology sits at the core of what we do, we are a people business; we believe in building lasting relationships.”

Lending with ArchOver takes place over its secure online platform. Invest on a loan-by-loan basis in multiples of £1,000, or in increments of £250 via its automated Investment Plan. Loan-by-loan investments earn interest between 6% and 11% p.a., and up to 6.4% via their Investment Plan. Interest is paid monthly in arrears from loan draw down.

Borrowing companies are UK-based and seeking a loan of between £250,000 and £10m. They will have been trading for a minimum of two years, have an established management team and proven business model. Loans are for any business purpose, typically raising working capital, replacing invoice discounting or bank overdrafts. Loans are fixed term, for a fixed amount and at a fixed rate of interest.

ArchOver offers five lending services supporting UK businesses. Each service addresses security in different ways to suit the needs of the Borrowers and the appetite of the Lenders. ArchOver’s flagship ‘Secured & Insured’ (S&I) service allows lenders to invest in loans secured against a company’s Accounts Receivable, where those Accounts Receivable are insured. ‘Secured & Assigned’ (S&A) allows Lenders to invest in loans that are secured against a company’s contracted recurring revenue, with ArchOver taking assignment of the contracts. ‘Secured’ (S) loans are leveraged against either a company’s Accounts Receivable or contracted recurring revenue, with the main difference being that the Accounts Receivable are not insured and the recurring revenue is non-assignable. ‘Bespoke’ (B) loans are made on the same basis as S&I or S&A, with the sole exception being that the all-asset charge initially ranks second and will transition to a first charge during the loan term. ‘Research & Development Advance’ (RDA) is unsecured short-term lending against an identified Research & Development claim payable to a company by HMRC. ArchOver also has an IFISA.

ArchOver is a member of the long-established, privately-owned Hampden group.

ArchOver is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority 723755.

Lender capital is at risk and interest payments are not guaranteed if the borrower defaults.

Lending over the ArchOver platform is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

 

Dugald Carlean

Regional Director, Head of Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire Office

ArchOver

T. 01707 932 093

E. dugald.carlean@archover.com

archover.com/herts-beds

 

PR contact

LEWIS T. +44 20 7802 2626

E. archover@teamlewis.com