Tag: Press Release

PROSPECT BUSINESS CENTRES TURNS TO ARCHOVER TO SUPPORT NEXT STAGE OF GROWTH

Author
Ashlee Dutton
Date

ArchOver, the peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending platform, has announced that Prospect Business Centres Ltd, the provider of serviced office accommodation, has selected ArchOver to raise additional working capital and replace its existing credit facilities.

Prospect Business Centres has provided specialist high-quality serviced office accommodation since opening its first centre in Leeds in 1980. The profitable business currently has seven centres in prime business locations, with five in London and two in Leeds. With a focus on quality of service and flexibility, Prospect Business Centres has an average occupancy rate of 87% in London and 82% nationwide. Its clients range from regional-based businesses like Health Management and West Yorks Mediation Services occupying one desk space in Leeds, to multinationals including GE Capital, AXA, NHS, Accenture and Kier Construction filling over 120 desks in the City. The company is now planning to open a further three sites in London over the next 18 months to meet the demand for serviced office space and support future growth.

“Just a few years ago, alternative finance providers weren’t as available in the mainstream. Without the likes of ArchOver, the best options available came with high interest rates and requirements for personal guarantees,” explained Charlie Cudworth, managing director at Prospect Business Centres. “When we started to consider the next stage of financing to help us achieve our projected growth figures, we were introduced to ArchOver by CreditSquare. It was their commitment to working closely with our business to understand our requirements coupled with its ability to package a series of loans together made it an ideal choice.”

Using its Secured & Assigned service, ArchOver has already raised £692,000 and is currently funding an additional £400,000 as part of a series of loans that will allow it to facilitate £3.1 million over the next 6 months. Against future contracted revenues of £12.3 million, the new loans will repay existing borrowing, reduce the cost of funding and give Prospect Business Centres the certainty that it needs to continue expanding and open new sites.

“We aim to help British businesses and have worked hard to raise awareness about alternatives to traditional lending which also maximise returns for investors,” concluded Angus Dent, CEO at ArchOver. “Originally founded in Leeds in 1980, Prospect Business Centres has continued to expand as demand for serviced office space has grown. Prospect Business Centres is an excellent example of how we are supporting the growth of companies that have long been ahead of their time by making access to funding as easy and simple as possible.

P2P LENDING PLATFORM ARCHOVER SELECTS LEWIS FOR UK COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN

Author
Ashlee Dutton
Date

LEWIS, the global communications agency, has been selected by ArchOver, the P2P business lending sevice, to deliver a communications programme aimed at driving greater awareness of alternative financing among small-to-medium businesses and investors in the UK.

ArchOver provides UK based SMEs with the facility to borrow from £250,000, where the loans are secured with an all-asset charge over the borrower’s business and registered at Companies House. Unlike other peer-to-peer lending facilities, all borrower revenues flow through controlled bank accounts owned by ArchOver and the borrower, and the value of the security are monitored monthly throughout the loan term. This combined approach of an all-assets charge, control over the cash flow and monthly monitoring provides enhanced security to the lenders. This differentiator has attracted a range of individuals seeking a secure and favourable return on their investment, currently up to nine per cent per annum. The business is growing rapidly with ArchOver having already lent over £37m, secured full FCA authorisation and generated an average return of 7.26 per cent to its investors.

In a competitive pitch process, ArchOver selected LEWIS for its approach to driving awareness as part of an integrated marketing strategy to attract new lenders and borrowers to the platform. LEWIS will use its storytelling approach to explain and evangelise the merits of alternative financing.

Ashlee Dutton, marketing manager, ArchOver, said, “We chose LEWIS because they showed very clearly how they would engage our target audiences with the right content across the right channels. They demonstrated market knowledge, strategy, and creative storytelling. We are excited about the partnership and have already seen some great results in the short time we have been working together.”

Ruth Jones, Deputy Managing Director UK, LEWIS said, “UK SME’s are the growth engine of the economy yet traditional financing is hard to secure for the majority. ArchOver’s P2P lending platform is disruptive as it provides a new platform for borrowing, while giving individuals a safer way to realise better returns. We are excited to be part of the team that gets to share the ArchOver story.”

ARCHOVER PARTNERS WITH ESCALATE TO OFFER INCREASED SECURITY AND RAPID DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Author
Ashlee Dutton
Date

London, UK – 14 June 2017 – ArchOver, the peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending platform, has announced it is the first UK lender to partner with Escalate, a fixed-cost commercial dispute resolution service for SMEs. The partnership will enhance ArchOver’s ability to provide secure loans to the SME market, helping borrowers to bring in disputed payments and enhancing security for lenders as a result.

Escalate’s rapid no-win no-fee dispute resolution will enable ArchOver to recover any contested assets used as security for loans over the ArchOver platform, further enhancing its market-leading secured lending services. Escalate will ensure that lenders on the platform are protected by ensuring contested debts are paid and repayments can be made on time, working in tandem with ArchOver’s insurance partner firm Coface and the company’s all-asset charge on borrower assets.

Borrowers who don’t have time to chase down their disputed debts will also benefit from Escalate’s resolution service by using it to recover invoices that could be used for additional security. This will ultimately increase the amount they are able to borrow.

“Within the SME market, all sorts of debt tends to be written off due to the time and money it takes to chase debtors down,” explained Ian Anderson, ArchOver COO. “With Escalate on board, we will now be able to help SMEs to recover that debt, managing their cash flow and increasing their ability to access essential funding as a result. Combining our monthly monitoring and insurance policies with Escalate’s dispute resolution will also enable us to provide that extra level of assurance for our lenders, reinforcing ArchOver’s position as one of the most security-focused P2P platforms in the market.”

Escalate was created by a group of leading professional services businesses to bring fixed cost, no-win no-fee services to commercial dispute. It combines the capabilities of accountancy firms PKF Littlejohn, Haines Watts and Price Bailey with law firms such as Bermans and Moore Blatch, and the expertise of Flaxmans, a legal expenses provider and insurance claims mediation specialist.

Chris Clay, one of the architects of the Escalate process, said: “Escalate’s successful launch has been sup-ported by its network of forward-thinking partners that recognise the platform’s genuinely disruptive of-fer. ArchOver shares our ambitions, ethos and commitment to shaking up the market, so partnering with them was a natural next step for us.‎”