Lending Club CEO Breaks Channel Crossing Record

COWES, England, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lending Club (NYSE: LC), the world's largest marketplace connecting borrowers and investors, today announced that CEO Renaud Laplanche and co-skipper Ryan Breymaier established a new world speed sailing record across the English Channel from the Royal Yacht Squadron Cowes, Isle of Wight to Dinard, France in 5 hours, 15 minutes, subject to ratification by the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) aboard their 105-foot offshore trimaran "Lending Club 2" at an average speed of 26.36 knots.

Other crew members included Jan Majer, Stanislas Delbarre, Olivier Laplanche, navigator Boris Herrmann, French racing veterans Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant and Roland Jourdain, and OBR Quin Bisset. Shore based weather routing was provided by Wouter Verbraak.

Following preparation overseen by Breymaier in France and training in the past week, the boat had been stationed in Gosport, UK waiting for the perfect weather window, while Laplanche flew in at the last minute on Monday to take the helm once weather conditions had been confirmed.

The previous record of 5 hours, 23 minutes was established by skipper Brian Thompson, navigator Adrienne Cahalan and the crew of "Maiden II," a 110-foot catamaran, in September 2002 at an average speed of 25.6 knots.

"After our attempt at breaking the Transpacific record in 2013, we had been working on assembling the right boat, crew and weather conditions to make another record attempt," said Laplanche. "The Cowes to Dinard record is a very special challenge that had been around for over 10 years; I am very proud of what the crew accomplished today."

"We always knew the Cowes to Dinard record would be very tough to break as Maiden set the bar high. We're overjoyed with our result today; it's a great start to our record-breaking plans for the year," added Breymaier, member of Royal Ocean Racing Club.

Laplanche has personally chartered the 105-foot offshore trimaran (formerly "Banque Populaire 7") and renamed it "Lending Club 2" for a series of races and record-breaking attempts throughout 2015. Pictures and videos of the record-breaking run can be viewed on the team's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LendingClubSailing.

Special thanks to Lending Club Technical partners: Switlik Survival Equipment, Marlow Ropes, Guy Cotton clothing, and Underwater Kinetics technical equipment.

About Lending Club

Lending Club's mission is to transform the banking system to make credit more affordable and investing more rewarding. The company's technology platform enables it to deliver innovative solutions to borrowers and investors. Lending Club has been prominently recognized as a leader for its growth and innovation, including being named one of Forbes' America's Most Promising Companies three years in a row, a CNBC Disruptor two years in a row, a 2012 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, and one of The World's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Finance by Fast Company. Lending Club is based in San Francisco, California. More information is available at https://www.lendingclub.com.

Currently only residents of the following states may invest in Lending Club notes: CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, KY (accredited investors), LA, MA, ME, MN, MS, MT, NH, NV, NY, RI, SD, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, or WY.

Some of the statements in this above are "forward-looking statements." The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "will," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Information in this press release is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

Additional information about Lending Club is available in the prospectus for Lending Club's notes, which can be obtained on Lending Club's website at https://www.lendingclub.com/info/prospectus.action.

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SOURCE Lending Club

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