Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose money. This is a high-risk investment. You may not be able to access your money easily and are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

1. You could lose the money you invest

  • Many peer-to-peer (P2P) loans are made to borrowers who can’t borrow money from traditional lenders such as banks. These borrowers have a higher risk of not paying you back.

  • Advertised rates of return aren’t guaranteed. If a borrower doesn’t pay you back as agreed, you could earn less money than expected. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of losing your money.

  • These investments can be held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). An IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free.

2. You are unlikely to get your money back quickly

  • Some P2P loans last for several years. You should be prepared to wait for your money to be returned even if the borrower repays on time.

  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a ‘secondary market’, but there is no guarantee you will be able to find someone willing to buy.

  • Even if your agreement is advertised as affording early access to your money, you will only get your money early if someone else wants to buy your loan(s). If no one wants to buy, it could take longer to get your money back.

3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

  • A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.

4. The P2P platform could fail

  • If the platform fails, it may be impossible for you to collect money on your loan. It could take years to get your money back, or you may not get it back at all. Even if the platform has plans in place to prevent this, they may not work in a disorderly failure.

5. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover investments in P2P loans. You may be able to claim if you received regulated advice to invest in P2P, and the adviser has since failed. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.

  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here. For further information about peer-to-peer lending (loan-based crowdfunding), visit the FCA’s website here.

Blend Performance & Return Statistics

Funded So Far

Average Return p.a.

Portfolio Performance

Loss

0%

Expected and actual default rate and arrears

201720182019202020212022202320242025TOTAL
Number of Loans41616242537304115208
Total GDV Funded£797,000£8,016,400£8,531,800£22,855,000£26,681,000 £32,665,000 £35,330,500£22,192,700£17,315,000£174,384,400
Average Loan Term per Project (months)22.020.219.418.920.320.519.616.917.319.44
Capital Losses0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected Default Rate0%1%1%1%3%3%3%3%3%2%
Number of Projects Defaulted0100000001
Number of Projects in Technical Default0000100001
Number of Projects in Recovery0000000000
Number of Projects Recovered0100000001
Number of Projects in Arrears0000001001

DEFINITIONS

Number of Loans. Simple count of the number of individual loans where capital has successfully been called for in a year.

Total GDV Funded. The aggregate gross development value of all projects originated in a year.

Average Loan Term per Project (months). The mean original contractual duration, in months, of projects originated in a year.

Capital Losses. The aggregate of irrecoverable write-offs of principal (after enforcement and realisation of security has occurred) divided by the total project size(s) of relevant projects, shown in the year the project was originated.

Expected Default Rate. The expected default rate is arrived at by forecasting actual losses as a percentage of the loans made in that year after the recovery of security. Security is obtained in various forms and recovery can take several weeks or months. This figure represents our best estimate of the eventual loss; however, it is not a reliable indicator of future results or actual default rates and provides only a guide to expected performance, without accounting for the actual performance of individual borrowers or the property market.

Number of Projects Defaulted. The aggregate count of projects where a third-party insolvency professional or similar has been formally appointed to recover the loan, shown in the year the project was originated.

Number of Projects in Technical Default. The aggregate count of projects where the borrower is past the original contractual payment due date by more than 180 days, shown in the year the project was originated. Where a project is in Technical Default but not in Recovery, it means that despite the late payment, the lender is working with the borrower to achieve full repayment.

Number of Projects in Recovery. The aggregate count of projects where the borrower is past the original contractual payment due date by more than 180 days and the project is currently undergoing enforcement or workout actions (such as appointing LPA receivers, administrators, selling the security property, or negotiating discounted settlements), shown in the year the project was originated.

Number of Projects Recovered. The aggregate number of projects that have previously defaulted where the formal third-party recovery process or similar has been completed, shown in the year the project was originated.

Number of Projects in Arrears. The aggregate number of projects where the borrower is past the original contractual payment due date by more than 90 days, shown in the year the project was originated.

The term "Number of Projects" in a statistic refers to the count of projects based on the year when the initial loan for each relevant project was first disbursed (as projects can be made up of multiple loans).

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

OUTCOMES STATEMENTS

View our 2024 Outcomes Statement

View our 2023 Outcomes Statement

View our 2022 Outcomes Statement (July - December)

View our 2021-2022 Outcomes Statement

View our 2020-2021 Outcomes Statement

View our 2019-2020 Outcomes Statement