Blend Network, a proptech P2P lender that aims to give mid-size UK property developers access to liquidity, announced securing a $156.4 million (£120 million) funding line, according to Crowdfund Insider.
The company says it will use the funding to boost its loan origination capabilities and offer greater support to mid-sized residential property developers across the UK, in turn enabling a greater contribution to solving the country’s ongoing housing crisis.
Not to be confused with U.S.-based digital lending platform Blend, which provides end-to-end digital mortgage and consumer banking technology, Blend Network provides developers with loans to ensure builders have liquidity need to complete projects.
“This fresh funding line will allow us to not only boost our origination capability significantly, but also widen the breadth of services that we offer property brokers to assist them in sourcing attractive lending opportunities,” said Blend Network CEO Yann Murciano.
The UK’s Home Builders Federation recent housing report said that due to post-COVID financial strain, there is doubt related to the country’s government pledge to build 300,000 new homes annually by the mid 2020s.
“Overall, it allows us to offer greater support to help mid-sized residential property developers across the UK boost their lending capacity, which will in turn make a greater contribution to solving the country’s housing crisis,” Murciano said, according to Information Age.
Blend Network has doubled its lending volume every year since 2019 and stated that it has recorded zero losses on loans, even at the height of the pandemic. The company also said it will use the funding to widen its range of services, which currently include free 6-month loan extensions, to help property brokers assist them in sourcing lending opportunities.
Global law firm Ashurst advised Blend on the transaction, and its recent oversubscribed £10 million equity funding round in February led by Nico Paraskevas.
“We really enjoyed supporting the Blend team scale up and raise funds to put them in the position where they have successfully secured this committed capital, and we look forward to working alongside them in the next phase of Blend’s exciting growth,” said Jonathan Cohen, partner at Ashurst.
In other recent proptech news, Notarize hired its very first CFO, Kartik Ramachandran, following its recent $130 million Series D. Dealpath also announced forming a partnership with MRI Software and a Partner Connect integration.