Folk2Folk partner with Thatcher & Hallam solicitors
The Midsomer Norton agency of Folk2Folk, the South West’s leading people to business finance company, has announced an agreement to work together with local solicitors Thatcher & Hallam to provide funding to organisations and individuals in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and the Mendips.
Folk2Folk introduces people looking for a good return on their investments, with people looking to borrow funds secured against property. Thatcher & Hallam have been appointed by Folk2Folk to undertake all the legal security work for its agency in Midsomer Norton marking a new stage in Folk2Folk’s growth and deepening the company’s connections to the local people and businesses in the area.
Folk2Folk was born out of long-established Westcountry solicitors Parnalls of Launceston. “Our legal heritage is something we are very proud of,” said Louis Mathers Director of Folk2Folk.
“A longstanding, responsible and respectable background coupled with our physical agencies is what sets us apart from online peer to peer lenders and crowdfunders. As our business continues to grow it is important to us to work with similar reputable and long-established legal firms. We are very pleased to be working with Thatcher & Hallam who share similar traits and values as Parnalls. Both companies have deep roots within their local communities having served them for centuries.” Tim Westlake, partner at Thatcher & Hallam, said: “We are delighted to be working with Folk2Folk. We recognise a strong local need for this service of introducing and matching borrowers with lenders and we are excited to help them facilitate this for people in BANES and the Mendips.” In terms of volume, Folk2Folk is currently the sixth largest P2P business lender of funds in the UK (source: https://www.altfidata.com/marketdata/).
Since beginning in 2013, the company has introduced almost £50 million of funding in the Westcountry and this collaboration with Thatcher & Hallam will help extend its offering further. Folk2Folk has seen a huge increase in the number of its existing lenders returning to invest further funds, with over 60% now being repeat lenders. “Such strong lender confidence in Folk2Folk ensures a steady pool of funds which is great for local borrowers,” said Managing Director David Brown. “In recent months we’ve set up loans for a variety of projects including house building, property developments and the purchase of farm machinery and livestock and we have finance ready now for new applications.” More than £7.5m of funds were introduced to local businesses and individuals by Folk2Folk in the first two months of 2015 and indications are that March will exceed this.
