Linked Finance have launched a new fixed-rate loan product in a bid to help local SMEs who still struggle to access the funds they need to support growth.
 
All loans on the Linked Finance platform have followed the same format to date. A live, 2-week auction that sees members of the public bid to give businesses the funds they need. Lenders contribute various amounts at interest rates of between 5% and 15%.

Unlike the normal live auctions, where the interest rate is determined by the market, fixed-rate loans are assigned a predetermined interest rate based on Linked Finance’s credit scoring. This gives more certainty when businesses are choosing to use the platform.
 
Omega Pest Control, a specialist provider of high-quality and efficient hygiene solutions, successfully raised a loan of €30,000 this week. The request took just over 12 hours to fund at 8.8%. This is a record for Linked Finance as the fastest loan ever to close on their public marketplace.
 
Fixed-rate loans are just one in a series of innovative new business loan products that Linked Finance is introducing to the market. The company has also just launched 12 month loans and private, off-market loans which will both help to attract an even wider range of SMEs to the popular P2P lending platform.
 
CEO of Linked Finance, Peter O’Mahony says, "To date Linked Finance has proven very popular with businesses who like the ‘crowd’ angle. If you run a coffee shop or craft brewery, you’re going to really value the opportunity to get the funds you need and promote your business to a community of more than 12,000 local lenders. It means you can promote your business, drive your rate down and win new customers as part of the process."

Source: www.businessworld.ie