CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Category: <span>Press Releases</span>

Raising £540,000 for a development of 9 detached executive homes in North Yorkshire has taken CapitalStackers’ deals past the milestone of £150 million raised in total for building projects – whilst maintaining its loss-free record. Bank finance accounted for £124 million with CapitalStackers’ investors contributing £28 million.

The Glam Living development in Church Fenton is typical of CapitalStackers’ unique contribution to property development – comprising a blend of P2P and bank finance that allows small investors to get involved in the kind of property development funding that used to be the exclusive province of banks, and enables banks to fund projects that would otherwise be beyond their scope.

It therefore revolves around strong, trusted working relationships between CapitalStackers and the banks – both rely on the other to make good deals happen, and they support and work with each other throughout. Glam Living specialises in developing in popular rural Yorkshire locations where there is a shortage of supply of elegant, bespoke houses in the £500K to £1m price range. The company is characteristic of the platform’s borrower profile – run by experienced developers who produce well-designed, well thought out housing schemes that withstand rigorous risk modelling.

Steve Robson, MD of CapitalStackers, said, “This milestone is particularly pleasing given it’s been achieved through very strong relationships with our senior funding partners and especially our investors, to whom I would like to pass on our sincere thanks.”

Of the £150 million total, nearly £43 million has already been repaid to banks and over £15.7 million to small investors (at an average return of 12.91%). The remaining £12m is still earning for investors in construction projects across the UK. The lowest return received by CapitalStackers investors has been 6.9% and the highest 24.97% – with zero losses.

So as CapitalStackers prepares to launch its brand new website, with 190 active investors and some 300 waiting in the wings, it’s worth reflecting that none of this success is by accident. The zero loss record – even throughout the current cocktail of global crises – is a living reflection of the core directors’ experience as property lenders with top-drawer banking pedigrees.

The directors have adhered throughout to their key principle of never allowing a trowel to be lifted or a penny to be drawn down until all the funding is in place – when many competitors fell by the wayside because they were unable to find fresh investment in times of crisis.

So while the pandemic (and ensuing supply shortages) may have caused understandable delays and hiccups, ongoing funding has not been a barrier to completion for CapitalStackers projects. In a world where uncertainty is now the only certainty, the CapitalStackers team have long been experts at pricing-in and preparing for risk. And it’s a testament to their steady hand on the tiller that not a single deal entered the red zone during lockdown.

It’s also a demonstration of the proficiency of the wider team, with whom CapitalStackers has built enviable working relationships – not least Manchester solicitors, Taylors, who have worked closely with the Directors for 8 years and have professionally scrutinised every single CapitalStackers deal.

Taylors’ Matthew Catterall commented, “Having worked with Steve and the team at CapitalStackers since 2014, we have built a fantastic working relationship that is based on a deep understanding of the CapitalStackers business, allowing us to anticipate their needs and deliver streamlined, effective advice.

“Huge congratulations to Steve and the rest of the team on reaching this milestone, which demonstrates just how great the CapitalStackers product and team are.”

Such strong, loyal relationships are the mortar that binds this wider team – the banks, surveyors, solicitors and accountants who work with CapitalStackers – allowing them to provide this unique service. The homes it has funded would never have been built if it weren’t for the platform and its investors. And as others pull out of the P2P sector, CapitalStackers simply plants its feet and takes a firmer stance – at a time of national housing shortage. They form a robust and invaluable pillar to support our UK housebuilding industry.

Blog Borrower News Deals Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Total transparency has always been a core function to us at CapitalStackers, but in the current climate, just like handwashing, this element of normal housekeeping takes on critical importance.

We’re fully aware that our investors will be looking to us to keep them informed as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds. Of course, detailed information has always been available in the individual deal rooms on the platform. But for those investors who may not go looking for this, there’s a chance they could miss important information.

So to be clear, we’ll be reporting even more regularly to you – both in general terms, and on a deal-by-deal basis. We’ll give you all possible detail on how conditions on the ground are affecting the specific projects that you’ve invested in.

Clearly, we can’t predict how things will pan out, but by continuing to give you regular, exhaustive progress reports on each project – both from the borrower, and from the independent surveyor – we hope to give you all the information you need to assess the ongoing safety of your investments.

If you’re investing through a pooled platform – across a variety of consumer and SME loans – your capital is more likely be affected in the immediate to short-term. If you’re able to, you might want to withdraw your funds quickly because the situation is volatile and information hard to come by, but this may no longer be possible.

On the other hand, when you lend direct on a property development scheme through CapitalStackers, the situation is going to be played out over a longer term (excepting projects where completion is imminent), so the need to move quickly is not quite so crucial.

Of course, you’ll want to keep a closer eye on the situation – but you’ll also have an ongoing, detailed rundown of every key element of the investment. As we say, this is available on the platform at all times, but over the coming months we’ll go further and interpret it more frequently so that you don’t miss a thing.

And while the current situation could never have been foreseen, our standard due diligence builds in some fairly significant downsides for every scheme because we have always felt it prudent to do so. This, therefore, leaves you a fair amount of headroom before the virus infects your capital.

For instance, if we’re (collectively) lending within our typical range up to a maximum 75% Loan-to-Value including interest, this means the sale price will have to fall by more than 25% from the appraised valuation before your capital is affected. However – this is also after we’ve allowed for potential construction delays, cost overruns and deferred sales.

That’s quite a lot of breathing time.

Then again, we’re not rejecting the possibility that property values could be hit hard in the coming months, but as you’d expect, we’ve considered this in our risk analysis too.

And without doubt, the most important thing you want to know right now is how all this could impact our deals, and your investments. We’re going to try to answer this question here, but please be aware that the answer will extend and adapt as the situation does.

 

What could the effects be?

This is new territory for everyone. The whole world has changed and seemingly changes again every time the sun comes up. Accurate prediction is nigh on impossible but here are our best conjectures about the immediate impact:

Project periods may need to be extended because:

  • Skilled labour supply might be reduced;
  • The supply chain could be interrupted;
  • Utility companies may decrease output or even go into self-imposed lockdown;
  • A blanket lock down on all sites could be imposed by the Government if on-site working practices on some sites fail to adhere to safe distancing rules.
  • Projects nearing completion will certainly be impacted by the current general lockdown. If people can’t view, they won’t be able to buy and so selling periods will become protracted.

We can expect longer construction periods to lead to increased costs and higher interest accrued through longer-than-anticipated loan terms.

In addition to the above, property values may fall due to a weaker economy.

These factors will eat into the profit margin and push up the Loan-to-Value ratio.

 

So what are we doing about it?

In short, we’re going through our daily downside sensitivity routine, but on steroids. We’re appraising each deal in the context of where it is now, assessing the possibility of a total construction lockdown, evaluating delays to construction and sales with interest continuing to roll up.

Through this exercise, we’re able to give you a progressive insight into how much values could fall before you are on risk.

Although the situation is unprecedented, we’re also able to draw from historical examples in our modelling, and this gives us some cause for optimism.

The last massive interruption to the market came in 2008 when the banking sector imploded and liquidity almost completely dried up. As you can see from the chart below, the market fell less than 20% in the eighteen months from the peak in September 2007 to the trough of March 2009. This, of course, is less than the minimum 25% headroom all CapitalStackers deals allow for.

Financial hygiene is even more important during the COVID-19 crisis

The banking sector at that time was less robust than it is now. Some banks collapsed, others simply pulled out – leaving the property sector in the lurch. It took a long time for the market to get back to where it was.

Today, banks have better capital ratios and their real estate exposure is significantly more conservative. The expectation and likelihood is that they will remain supportive while the market repairs itself, and that the repair should be quicker and more stable than last time.

So to summarise, as always, we’re maintaining close contact with our borrowers, senior debt providers, monitoring surveyors and estate agents – but everyone is on high alert and we’re fully aware of the increased importance of full and detailed information.

And as ever, we’re making ourselves fully available to investors. You’re used to that, of course, but now, more than ever, if you want to discuss the outlook either generally or specific to any deal, you’re welcome to call us at any time. Our contact numbers are below.

Blog COVID-19 Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

We’re delighted to add a new layer of transparency on the CapitalStackers website.

On the new “Portfolio Statistics” page, members can find answers to general questions, such as how much cash we’ve raised in total through our investors, how much has been provided by banks and what the average investment is.

But it also allows them to browse through enlightening performance stats such as

  • Highest and lowest investor returns
  • Average return
  • Repayment performance
  • Risk and reward

Along with useful background information to explain any anomalies or unusual variations.

You may ask why we haven’t done this before. The simple answer is, until recently we haven’t had sufficient data. However, having reached the significant milestone of £60 million funding raised (that’s £45 million through banks and the rest through you) we feel the sample size is now robust enough to give you a meaningful set of statistics.

We’d like to take a moment to thank our investors and appreciate what a huge achievement they’ve helped to make possible – behind every statistic there is a viable, successful building project that would never have got off the drawing board if it weren’t for their collective support.

So now’s finally the time to stop hiding our light under the bushel.

Blog News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Is it any more than a coincidence that big players are pulling out of the retail P2P market at the very moment the new, tighter FCA regulations come into force? 

Both ThinCats and Landbay have publicly switched to institutional funding, citing the main reason as the dwindling cost-effectiveness of servicing individual investors. Both suggested that the retail sector was no longer commercially viable”. 

However, since others clearly continue to find it viable, the timing suggests other factors at play. The FCA’s tightening up of the rules  including appropriateness tests and investment limits imposed on Restricted investors was intended to remove the bad actors from the industry, to clean out the stables and bring the crowdfunders into the mainstream. And of course it will do that. 

However, as a couple of fairly significant babies are sluiced away with the bathwater, we’re left to wonder whether more of the good operators will be putting up the shutters and thinking it’s too much like hard work to try and boost the portfolio of Mrs Miggins.   

This would be an awful shame.  

At CapitalStackers, we’ve always welcomed tighter regulations. Since our own working practices have always been well above the regulatory minimum, we’re happy to have the playing field levelled to the highest degree possible.  

Let’s make no mistake about it – this is a great moment in our industry’s history. A defining moment. Where common sense finally anchored the helium-filled headlines. 

It’s not as if the new rules are particularly onerous. They boil down to “don’t sell things to people who don’t understand them”. Which is a pretty basic principle for organisations trusted with Mrs. Miggins’ life savings. 

As a responsible platform, we don’t want to be inviting investments from people who don’t fully understand the mechanics of risk and reward. Our business model is not, and has never been, dependent on catching the unsuspecting unawares.  

We actively seek people who understand that reward is an inter-related function of risk. As with the stock market, it generally follows that the higher the risk you take, the more chance there is of losing some or all of your money – but the higher the reward. However, athe fly half targets the flailing prop in midfield, sometimes a mismatch can lead to success. In some instances, a surprisingly low LTV ratio can bring a double-digit reward.  

The key is information. Monitoring and reporting. The P2P “outlaws” that have gone by the wayside have largely been characterised by a lack of both. Anyone investing in a CapitalStackers scheme, on the other hand, will have access to an Aladdin’s cave of information on the deal, the developer, and all the peripheral contributing factors that explain the terms of the deal. Not just before they invest, but throughout the life of the deal. 

Of course, it’s a shame that regulations had to be imposed from above to force the cowboys to stop shooting up the town. But it’s equally sad that a couple of decent operators have now felt all this is now beneath them, and that the game is not worth the candle. 

Landbay cited their need to “compete” with the banks. Founder John Goodall lamented that other P2P platforms were lending at higher rates while Landbay was looking to compete with banks whose mortgage rates are lower. 

“Our margins were being increasingly squeezed and we would have had to cut investor rates to compete,” he said. 

This is something that has never exercised us at CapitalStackers. The market is plenty big enough for the banks and P2P platforms not to tread on each others’ toes. We happily work in close partnership with banks on the same deals, sharing information and underpinning each others’ due diligence. Operating at different levels to push the same deal over the line, and our respective rates are set accordingly 

Most deals need the banks, and they need us, too. Some banks have even started to bring deals to CapitalStackers for us to help them make it happen. They’re comfortable that tightly-run P2P is a great enabler – and the small investor derives comfort from the fact that the bank is involved, because they know bankers understand risk and reward more than most. 

So it will be a great sadness if the regulations designed to remove the bad choices for investors also thinned out the good ones. There’s room for all of us, and educating our investors is not so big a burden, is it? 

We sincerely hope more operators who know what they’re doing enter the market as the regulations become the norm. 

But in the meantime, if any jilted investors are looking for a place to grow their stack of capital, you know where to come. 

Blog Borrower News Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

What is it about CapitalStackers deals that sees them sold out so quickly to those in the know? 

 Anyone who’s ever tried to invest in a CapitalStackers deal knows you have to be quick on the draw to get a piece. They’re known for selling out fast – sometimes in minutes, and rarely more than a few days. 

 So in a market where even astute investors have been so publicly burnt (viz: Lendy and FundingSecure lenders), what is it that gives people such a voracious appetite for this particular property-based crowdfunder? 

 Certainly, interest has stepped up since they were dubbed the Safest 20% Returns in P2P Lending (https://www.4thway.co.uk/candid-opinion/the-safest-20-returns-in-p2p-lending/ ), but to be fair, deals were oversubscribed well before that.  

Of course, the mere scarcity of deals may sharpen the appetite of some. Since deals have to be very watertight indeed to withstand the buffeting from the CapitalStackers Due Diligence Team. Very few make it through – perhaps understandably since the CapitalStackers directors invest in every single scheme themselves – to the tune of £1.7 million at present (and almost £4 million in total to date). 

But then, seasoned investors are not swayed by mere rarity value. They tend to get down to the nuts and bolts.  

They’ll notice, for instance, the fact that CapitalStackers hasn’t set itself up to operate, as others havepurely as an alternative to the banks.  

And for very good reasons. 

Owned and managed by former bank property lending specialists, CapitalStackers is actually the only P2P facilitator that works in close partnership with banks, on the very same deals, sharing information, each doing their own independent due diligence and – crucially – allowing the bank to bear the ongoing liquidity risk in full In this way, it ensures all construction funding is in place before a sod is cut and any investor parts with a penny.  

This is deeply reassuring for investors, since they know that the success of each venture is fully self-contained and never has to rely on attracting funds from new investors to finish the project. It’s equally reassuring for them to know that banks are unlikely to wade into any deal this deep without serious confidence that it’s going to bear golden fruit. 

Anyone looking at the deal history will have been further reassured by the sheer volume and frequency of information. From the basics – conservative Loan to Value ratios; often lower than 50%, never above 75% – to what some might call pedantic; historic flood risks in the general area of the construction site (which actually proved its worth in a project in York a few years ago, which escaped the floods that deluged the city and returned an impressive 22.4% per annum to investors). In between, a huge volume of information is provided on the site’s dashboard for each deal, from the business history of the developers, surveyor’s reports, micro and macro risk analyses, builders’ inside leg measurements… 

And unlike some notable P2P platforms, whose interest rates are seemingly set as “headline” rates to attract investors, CapitalStackers’ return rates are calculated specifically through detailed analysis of all the above factors. This is the key to investors’ confidence. They know that the risk they sign up for is fairly and accurately priced into the return they will get for it. 

This meticulous scrutiny has produced an enviable record of returns to investors of between 8.5% and 22.5% with no losses (although as a prudent platform we would always point out to investors that one can never say never. However, since they personally have a lot of skin in every deal, it makes sense that the directors of CapitalStackers operate at an extremely high level of diligence and reporting).  

Hence, many investors, on being repaid, immediately reinvest in the next CapitalStackers scheme. Having begun investing with the confidence that they’re lending alongside the CapitalStackers directors who are lending alongside the banks, their confidence has been nurtured by a wholly positive, fully-informed lending experience and a fruitful result.  

And it’s why, if you do hear of a CapitalStackers deal coming up that you’d love to get a piece of, these are the quick-fingered competitors you’ll have to beat to get your bid in. 

Blog Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Before the rotten practices of FundingSecure (and prior to that, Lendy) stink out the entire P2P barrel, allow us to offer a free professional opinion: we could have told you so. 

The FCA’s new, tighter regulations (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/peer-to-peer-lenders-given-last-warning-32tc32h2rwill certainly help clean out some of the bad crowdfund operators, but will clearly come too late for some investors.  

Of course, well-run P2P industry is a crucial cog in the post-modern economic machine. It gives good businesses access to funds that banks can no longer supply, and it gives investors access to opportunities that have erstwhile been closed to them.  

Stuart Law, the Chief Executive of Assetz Capital, made this point in the Financial Times recentlywelcoming the fact that “it is a fact of life now that these businesses have much tighter prudential standards and regulations to live up to.”  

We agree, of course. However, when he goes on to speculate that “smaller platforms” may struggle with consolidation in the sector, we take issue with him. 

“P2P lending is…now a highly regulated market”, he says, “which is good for investors with larger, well-funded platforms such as ourselves but makes things very difficult for under-resourced businesses,’ adding that “The smaller players are clearly struggling to keep up and the badly-run businesses are being scrutinised by the regulator.” 

This is clearly an over-generalisation – and the uncharitable amongst us might suggest it is made with mischievous intent. The phrase equating “larger” platforms with well-funded” ones is a non-sequitur. As is the suggestion that smaller ones are “badly-run”Anyone who knows their investment onions will be aware that size is no guarantee of good operation, or of sufficiency of funding. In fact, a major part of FundingSecure’s problem was its appetite for growth even in areas outside its experience. 

A report in The Daily Telegraph as recently as June 2019 pointed to spiralling defaults and repeated extension of loan terms. The platform, having been forced to sell a majority stake and address investors’ concerns by “reassessing” the entire loan book and promising “timely and meaningful updates” on loans, clearly saw no reason to ease off on growth and wait until its house was back in order, but issued a further 36 loans in May alone, adding £2.2 million to the mounting bonfire, and attracted 134 new investors. 

These investors joined despite the fact that anyone with a couple of idle fingers could have Googled reports like that on profitwarning.co.uk back in December 2018, which flagged, among other things: 

Increased defaults: Many property-facing platforms have suffered problems, particularly those whose loans rely on further development. The site seems to have shifted over the years to become more property focused, which explains this.
Poor Management: The nature of some of the defaults give rise to the doubts of the quality of monitoring given to loans by FundingSecure – perhaps they might be stretched too thinly staff-wise.
Poor Communication: There are no fixed times for updates to be given to investors. Often updates are not given at all, or when promised, missed out altogether. 

Or numerous Trustpilot reviews, such as this one from May 2018: 

Their recklessness with lenders’ money is criminal. Their valuations defy credulity and the resulting defaults end in catastrophic losses for investors with the company denying all responsibility for their dangerous lack of due diligence.  

And this one from November 2018: 

After lending now for over 9 months it is very clear that they are misleading investors…out of 40 investments that are due to be paid back with interest, 85% have not been??!! Updates are very poor and they are not making any attempts to…get back money for investors….They are taking on way too many loans and making their turn out of it to care about the lenders…avoid! 

This growth-at-all-costs attitude betrays a contempt for the fundamental obligations of handling other people’s money. FundingSecure moved away from what they knew – funding not-always-secure pawnbroking loans (in one notorious case loaning money secured on valuable paintings, and not realising the paintings had been sold partway through the loan term) – to (some equally dicey) bridging loans (which we’ve discussed before, in reference to Lendy). 

It’s not hard to see why it stopped giving full disclosure to its investors some time around April last year according to the investor complaints on Trustpilot 

It should be an irrefutable requirement of holding another individuals investments that before investors part with a single penny, you:  

  1. Rigorously scrutinise every fine detail of the deal;  
  2. Undertake a forensic examination of the borrower’s background (which FundingSecure publicly did not);
  3. Take clear, detailed soundings of the wider market; and,
  4. You continue to do all the above regularly, thoroughly and consistently throughout the whole of the loan term. 

And it is no less crucial that you give frequent, comprehensive and transparent information to the people whose money you’re holding. At CapitalStackers, these are fundamental principles – we have no interest in growth for growth’s sake. 

CapitalStackers is not a big organisation. Growth, we know, will come naturally if we maintain our diligence, choose our deals wisely and safeguard the trust of our investors. This is how we came to be named “the safest 20% returns in Peer-to-Peer lending” (https://www.4thway.co.uk/candid-opinion/the-safest-20-returns-in-p2p-lending). 

We’re not suggesting we’ve eliminated risk, but we do all we can to ensure that we, the platform, don’t become part of it. Of course there is risk involved in property lending  that’s what the interest calculations are based on (or should be) – but we take a huge amount of care to ensure our investors have all the information they need to clearly understand those risks and get good value for them. 

We also ensure investors’ understanding is predicated on full and clear disclosure of the facts – that is, the risk is priced into every deal. Over the years, our 120+ active investors have come to trust our risk assessment, which has produced not a single loss in £55 million raised since we first opened the doors. 

Now, that’s not to suggest we haven’t unearthed problems from time to time – but with our directors’ extensive banking backgrounds in specialist property lending teams, we have in place established procedures for tackling those problems promptly and efficiently, while all the time keeping our investors informed of how or whether the risk is changing. We’re experienced debt advisors – our lending skills having been fine-honed in our former lives. We know when to turn the screw, and how to help borrowers out of whatever hole they might find themselves in, and turn it into the foundations of something better.  

What’s more, our investors are not cast alone on the choppy waters of risk – the unique positioning of CapitalStackers is that we work in close partnership with banks on most projects. Allowing the banks to absorb the ongoing liquidity risk and ensuring all the funding is in place to complete the project before any CapitalStackers investor parts with a penny. This means we’ll never be dependent on bringing new investors down the line (a big no-no in our book), because every project is fully-funded from the start 

Consider the alternative. If a platform takes money from investors to start (and continue to build) a project on the expectation that further funding can be attracted from new investors as it progresses, then it’s taking a huge gamble with the initial investors’ money. There’s no guarantee that new investors will be found, and there is no lender of last resort. So if something goes wrong, it will be virtually impossible to finish the build, or to sell a part-built property. And imagine how easy – irrespective of the size of the platform – it would be for investors to get spooked by some unforeseen event, throwing the entire loan book into jeopardy. 

This is why we don’t take our investors into any deal unless we can see a clear, profitable exit. 

Furthermore, the point about partnering with banks is a fundamental point of reassurance to our investors. Not because we rely on their due diligence. We don’t. If anything, our own due diligence is stricter, not least because our own money is often involved. But because we analyse the deal together, price the risk together, raise money together and monitor the investment together – but then we take up different investing positions, complementing each other.  

And perhaps on a basic level, it’s reassuring for our investors to consider that banks only get involved in deals that they feel will return their investment. 

In fact, not only are we growing a steady reputation for funding deals that the banks like the look of – some banks have even started bringing deals to us to help get them off the ground.  

This sort of belt-and-braces risk management goes far beyond the proposed new regulations. But we don’t do it for compliance, we do it to protect our investors.  

So we don’t fully accept Stuart Law’s assertion that P2P is “now a highly regulated market which is good for investors – it’s not. It igetting there, but there’s still a long way to go.  

However, we do believe that the more astute investors are starting to be able to tell the good nuggets from the fool’s gold.  

Blog Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Investors hungry for more double- digit returns pounced on the latest opportunity from CapitalStackers – a block of 23 flats near Leeds City Centre.

CapitalStackers investors typically enjoy returns of between 10% and 15%, usually over periods of 12-24 months. The conservative Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratios, high level of due diligence and zero losses have attracted a wide range of investors, some putting in as little as £5000, many considerably more.

The Leeds development – called Abode – is a four-storey block of 15 two-bedroom flats and eight one-bedroom flats, bringing a return of 13.76% on an LTV of 68.4%. Prices range from £80K to £130K and interest has been sparkling, with six of the flats already under offer well before completion. In addition to first-time-buying single professionals and urban downsizers, the flats are also proving enticing to Buy to Let landlords with good demand and individual flat rentals ranging from £550 to £700 per month.

This is the second deal launched for the experienced developers, Demech Properties, by CapitalStackers. They’re also on site with 22 houses at Thorne due for completion in Autumn 2019 with 17 houses either exchanged, in legals or reserved.

Abode was already under construction when they approached the investment platform, looking for additional funding to meet additional costs and improve cash flow to enable more cost-effective employment of bricklayers.

Marc Black, a director of Demech said, “This kind of deal can be tough for developers to find funding for, as few investment establishments will deal with part-built schemes. However, since we already have a strong relationship with the team at CapitalStackers, they used their considerable property experience to assess the risks and we were happy to meet their ancillary demands.”

CapitalStackers considered the construction risk to be greatly reduced since the building is already up to the 3rd floor and all externals are complete.

The developer expects the project to be fully sold out by March 2020.

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CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Remember the high quality Chessett’s Wood development in Lapworth, which paid annualised returns of up to 13.8% after just 7 months? Or the luxury St. Bernard’s Road development in Solihull paying 14.06% on a very reassuring Loan to Value (LTV) of just 55%?

Well, for those who happily capitalised on those – or even those who missed out – CapitalStackers is pleased to offer a third opportunity to invest in the same highly respected developer – Avalanche Capital and their joint venture construction partner, HCD Developments.

It’s our strong belief that HCD’s distinctive quality of workmanship is a key factor in the early property sales on their previous schemes.

The current opportunity is to invest a total of £620,000 in the development of two large luxury houses, in an established and popular residential road in Solihull – just ten minutes walk from the prosperous town centre and its rail station with links to London and only six miles from Birmingham Airport. Target annualised returns will range between 10.44% and 14.33% for LTV ratios of 52% to 63%.

To be clear, this means that if Layer 2 investors were to suffer a loss, the property would need to

fall in value by 37%. For Layer 1 investors to suffer loss, the value would have to fall by 48% – making for highly attractive risk adjusted returns.

The bulk of the finance – £1.345 million for construction works – is being put up by NatWest and the Borrower has substantial “skin in the game” with its cash equity of £540,000. In addition, the boost in site value from the granting of planning permission amounts to at least £200,000.

The funding base case on which the deal and its risk ratios are structured, assumes both properties are built out and remain unsold for the term of the loan. This follows the usual cautious approach adopted by CapitalStackers. Our sensitivity analysis assumes that at least one buyer will be secured during construction, leading to one house being sold the month after completion – and the second house selling two months later, with the conservative as

sumption of both being sold at a discount of 15% to value. Even taking this into account, risk ratios remain conservative at 60% LTV for Layer 1 investors and 73% for Layer 2.

The site currently accommodates an unoccupied single property in need of substantial renovation, so the proposal is to demolish this and build two very high specification detached houses, on three floors with single integral garages and off-road parking.

Investors are invited to offer loans of £5,000 upwards when the bidding opens at noon on Monday 18th March 2019. This is expected to be an extremely popular auction owning to the quality and track record of the developers and the deal itself, so early participation is recommended.

Blog Deals Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

£400,000 was raised in just one hour to help fund a bucolic waterside development of 22 houses in the pretty Yorkshire market town of Thorne, within a 45 minute commute of Leeds, Hull and Sheffield.

CapitalStackers investors stand to make annualised returns of between 10.28% and 12.92% against Loan to Value ratios of 51.1% and 54.4% respectively.

The development has attracted senior funding of £3,386,050 from United Trust Bank. The developer, SPG Property Services Ltd, has introduced the entire site as security, which has outline planning consent for a further 57 houses, in addition to the 22 being built in phase one.

The scheme has been well-planned and priced by this experienced developer of 15 years standing. The picturesque setting of Thorne, known locally as “Little Holland” has two railway stations, excellent motorway connections, good schools, sports clubs, shops and a decent range of pubs – factors which will account for the fact that 13 of the 22 houses have already been reserved and the agents have received over 100 enquiries before the marketing has been fully launched.

Phase one is a mix of 3, 4 and 5 bedroom houses, plus two bungalows, each with a parking space and all priced between £135,000 and £250,000.

CapitalStackers’ due diligence presented the investors with a comprehensive analysis of risks, mitigants and sensitivities.

Investors can expect to be paid out by November 2019.

Blog Deals Investor News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.

Building begins this month on a sympathetic development of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom stone houses in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Gregory Property Group – who have an excellent track record of successful developments over the last 30 years – have completed the drawdown of £504,000 funding for the first 11 houses, which is the first phase of 22 dwellings in the sought-after, picture-postcard village of Dacre Banks.

The development augments the area by adopting former vacant commercial land – and when completed will have a value of £5.8m. This will furnish annualised returns for CapitalStackers investors of 12.6% to 17.1% over 18 months – at Loan to Value ratios of 65% and 74% respectively – depending on which risk layer they have chosen.

As well as arranging the crowdfunded segment of the loan, CapitalStackers also negotiated the construction facility of £2m with Hampshire Trust Bank, one of its senior debt relationship lenders.

Sylvia Bowden of CapitalStackers said “it’s encouraging to find that we’re attracting new investors with each new deal published. The list of registered members continues to grow, with an average investment size of around £67,000 – although it is possible to invest as little as £5,000 with CapitalStackers. To meet the growing demand for investment, we are trialling a new policy where CapitalStackers invests in developments itself and then releases loans onto our secondary market, to make opportunities available for recently joined members”.

Not only does this exceptional development further adorn one of Yorkshire’s foremost areas of outstanding beauty – it will enrich and diversify the local population. It will attract a mix of young professionals, families and downsizers lured by rural village life, and commuters to Leeds and Harrogate, it also offers further proof of the escalating popularity of loan-based property crowdfunding as a consistent route to double-digit returns.

Blog Deals Investor News News Press Releases

CapitalStackers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 722549). Registered in England (Co. No. 7361691). Investment through CapitalStackers involves lending to property developers and investors. Your capital is at risk. Investments through this and other crowdfunding platforms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Unless otherwise stated, returns quoted are annualised and gross of tax.