Folk2Folk
The UK's largest retail peer-to-peer business lender, matching investors to property-secured loans of £100k to £10m at rates from around 8.75 per cent, with a rural and regional focus.
What they do
Folk2Folk originated in Cornwall and has lent more than £780m since 2013, funding secured business term loans, bridging and property development finance from retail and institutional investors, including a £7m commitment from British Business Investments. Every loan takes a first legal charge over UK land or property at up to around 60 per cent loan to value, borrowers pay monthly interest from about 8.75 per cent a year plus an arrangement fee, and brokers report decisions inside one to three days before security checks.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
Rural and regional businesses that own land or property, and that a bank has declined for reasons of sector or scale, are the natural borrower. Farming, tourism, small manufacturing and property investment all appear in the book. Where speed matters and the security is good, the platform can move faster than a bank on a comparable secured facility.
Where they are not the fit
Nothing is lent unsecured, and security cannot be taken over a borrower's own home, so a business without qualifying property has no route here. Leverage caps at around 60 per cent. The interest rate reflects the investor coupon rather than a bank's cost of funds, so this is dearer money bought for access and speed.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Investor-funded P2P; borrower rate tracks investor coupon - fixed monthly interest currently from 8.75% p.a. (~0.54%/month) plus arrangement fee + third-party fees
- Speed to terms
- Broker-cited ~24-72 hours to a decision, extended by property/security checks
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Sponsorless - direct-to-SME/corporate borrowers, not a private-equity sponsor lender
- Where they lend
- UK-wide, rural/regional emphasis (originated Cornwall/Devon)
- How they decide
- Platform underwrites via own credit/risk function then matches approved borrower to retail + institutional investors
As published by the lender and last reviewed August 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
The desks that lend
Folk2Folk lends through 3 separate books. Which one reads a deal decides the security, the covenant package and the band, so the question is rarely whether Folk2Folk lends, but which of these would own it.
Secured business term loan (interest-only)
- Facility
- £100k to £10m
- Security
- Fixed charge
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- No security over borrower primary residence; Must own UK land/property to secure; Loan to value capped ~60%
Bridging / short-term loan
- Facility
- £100k to £5m
- Security
- Fixed charge
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property first-charge security required; Term 3-24 months; Loan to value capped ~60%
Property development finance
- Facility
- £150k to £10m
- Security
- Fixed charge
- Funds
- Growth
- Rules out
- Property first-charge security required; Term up to 24 months
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling of £10m is among the 2 highest of the 5 platform lenders here.
- It lends through 3 distinct desks, where most firms here run one or two.
Counted across the 5 platform & marketplace lenders in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does Folk2Folk write?
Published facilities reach £10m, and the bottom of the published range is small-ticket business rather than a corporate facility. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
How quickly does Folk2Folk move?
Broker-cited ~24-72 hours to a decision, extended by property/security checks. Published timetables describe a clean case; anything unusual in the security or the structure adds to them.
Does Folk2Folk lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Yes. Folk2Folk lends to owner-managed and corporate borrowers, and publishes no private-equity sponsor proposition.
Where does Folk2Folk lend?
Folk2Folk lends in UK-wide, rural/regional emphasis (originated Cornwall/Devon).
On the record
September 2025: Kawai Chung appointed CEO as Roy Warren retires (Crowdfund Insider.
June 2025: Record FY2024 results — turnover ~£5.9-6.16m, PBT ~£1.84m, 6th consecutive profitable year, investors earned £17.3m (Alternative Credit Investor.
2025: Cumulative lending reported £780m+ (Folk2Folk press / Crowdfund Insider.
November 2021: British Business Investments £7m commitment (British Business Bank.
Sources: folk2folk.com
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.