This trailblazer for P2P lenders mustn’t burn out – Bottom Line
LENDING Club’s chief executive Renaud Laplanche has good reason to be upbeat today.
Not only has his personal fortune soared to over $350m on paper, due to his 4.1 per cent share holdings of the world’s largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lender, but yesterday’s hugely successful float of the firm will likely be seen as a trailblazer for alternative lenders.
If it hadn’t been for Alibaba’s record-breaking $25bn float in September then Lending Club’s $1bn float would likely be THE tech IPO of 2014.
London’s alternative lenders were likely watching Lending Club’s success yesterday with great interest, even before shares soared after being priced already at the higher end of expectations.
Now if Lending Club can continue to prove the strength of the P2P model with continuing impressive growth, then the path will truly be paved for the likes of Funding Circle, Lending Works and Zopa in London to walk the walk.