Borro has reached the £100 million milestone in funded loans to individuals and small businesses.
Launched in the UK in 2008 and in the US in 2012, Borro offers loans of up to £2 million secured against assets including fine art, antiques, jewellery, luxury watches, prestige and classic cars, and fine wine.
The asset lender says its luxury asset lending has achieved consistent 90% growth in each of the last four years. As a result of average loan values increasing to £15,000 from £7,000 this time last year Borro has decided to discontinue loans of less than £3,000.
The business says it continues to also see a huge demand for its services from the self-employed and SMEs who currently represent 65% of its loan book. For these customers the average loan value increases to £30,000.
Borro’s ‘sale advance’ offering, which enables clients to sell their assets, represents £5 million a year currently and projected to grow to £20 million in 2015.
Paul Aitken (pictured), founder and CEO of Borro, said: “It is a huge achievement for us at Borro to have lent £100 million. In an economic climate where loans from traditional sources remain few and far between, it is no surprise that we have achieved this landmark level of funded loans as people have had to turn their backs on the banks and seek solutions elsewhere.
“The last 15 months in particular have been especially exciting for the business as we lent £50 million. It took us five years to lend our first £50 million and this just shows how well-received our offering has been. We look forward to further developments across our offering.”