FOLK2FOLK: The Local Lending Movement & FOLKONOMICS

FOLK2FOLK, the award winning, Peer-to-Peer lending platform for rural and local business, today announces the official launch of The Local Lending Movement as part of its mission to help build and sustain socially and financially successful rural communities across the UK; something the company believes essential to Britain’s pre-and post-Brexit success.

The Local Lending Movement will manifest itself within FOLK2FOLK’s branding and through its behaviour and activity across the platform’s footprint, where it will seek to establish and build local networks focused on accelerating the delivery of its purpose.

Giles Cross (CEO: FOLK2FOLK) on The Local Lending Movement: The Local Lending Movement isn’t just about FOLK2FOLK. We’ve always talked about creating our national community of Lenders and Borrowers to dynamise the rural economy, but this goes way beyond that. This is about creating ecosystems on a local level that facilitate rural business growth on the ground. It involves the participation and support, not only of our Lenders and Borrowers, but also other interested parties: our legal and accountancy partners, local authorities, MPs, Chambers of Commerce, Local Enterprise Partnerships, surveyors and land agents, local cooperatives, leisure and tourism platforms, interest groups, community associations, charities, business groups and banks – with whom we have an increasing symbiotic relationship.

We hope that by engaging all parties we will collectively help facilitate the long-term prosperity of our rural and local communities. The Local Lending Movement isn’t just about us. It’s about all of us. It’s local, focused, social activism for positive outcomes. We like that.”

FOLK2FOLK believes that simple and efficient access to finance is a major factor in enabling business success. Since its inception in 2013, the company has helped hundreds of rural and local businesses with appropriate security to grow, develop and diversify by introducing local Lenders looking for attractive interest rates: creating local jobs, increasing tourism, employing local contractors and crucially incorporating the services of local professionals. By lending locally through FOLK2FOLK’s secured loans, FOLK2FOLK Lenders are providing a vital financial lifeline to rural and local UK businesses requiring their help.

The Local Lending Movement will be built around local Chapters, the focus of which will be FOLK2FOLK’s high street branches. A launch of local chapters will occur in due course and further branch openings are planned for 2018.

Powering The Local Lending Movement is what FOLK2FOLK describe as “FOLKONOMICS™” –  An economic model showing positive results across the company’s footprint.

Giles Cross (CEO: FOLK2FOLK) on FOLKONOMICS™: “In recent months and years we have repeatedly been told that trickle-down economics doesn’t work; that those ordinary, everyday people who were supposed to benefit from the financial interaction of the wealthy have lost out and been left behind. And that may be the case on the macro level, where the institutions traditionally required to facilitate the easy flow of capital are no longing playing and behaving as before.

However, we see it working perfectly on the local, micro level, where the transactions between our Borrowers and Lenders have an impact that is felt far beyond their Peer-to-Peer relationship on our platform. By accessing the finance for growth, development and diversification, our Borrowers are benefitting their local economy and community: they are creating and sustaining jobs, they are retaining talent in non-urban areas, and stemming its tide to the cities.

The more this happens, the greater the impact: Vibrant rural and local economies attract people into those areas, new homes are built, house prices are stabilised, other local businesses benefit as a result and from being part of the inevitable supply chain; the demand for better communication and connectivity increases, local bus routes retain their relevance, local schools and services are maintained and issues of social deprivation are better tackled.

On the other side of the equation, our Lenders are earning 6.5% p.a interest on the capital they lend, often adding to their retirement income, thereby increasing their spend into the economy.

We call this FOLKONOMICS™. It’s local people making an impact on their local economy and we think it’s one answer to securing long-term economic prosperity for rural Britain.”

FOLKONOMICS™ disrupts the traditional lending model as it removes the need for institutions to fund and facilitate the financing of business loans. In many cases, FOLK2FOLK has been able to assist businesses in sectors where traditional institutions are sometimes unable to lend.