Leading Peer-to-Peer Lender, Zopa, Secures £15m Investment Round from Arrowgrass Capital Partners

LONDON, January 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Zopa, Europe's largest peer-to-peer lending company, today announced it has closed a £15m ($25m) funding round from Arrowgrass Capital Partners.

Zopa enables savers to receive better rates by lending money to people looking for low-cost loans. Its customers have lent over £455m through the platform.

Zopa will use this new round of investment to support continued rapid growth and to increase awareness of Zopa's better rates and service among a wider audience of UK consumers. The funding represents another major investment in Zopa from the institutional investment community.

Arrowgrass Capital Partners is a European focused alternative asset manager, headquartered in London, with assets under management of approximately $4.6bn. Henry Kenner, CEO of Arrowgrass, has joined the Zopa board as a non-executive director.

Zopa is growing rapidly -the world's first peer-to-peer finance company lent £180m in 2013 with projections to reach £500 million lent in total ahead of regulation due in April 2014. The UK's peer-to-peer lending industry is growing very fast and is set to lend £1 billion per annum by 2015.

Giles Andrews, CEO and Co-founder of Zopa said, "As Zopa enables borrowers to dramatically cut their borrowing rates, and savers to see their money grow at market-leading rates and with the security they deserve, it's win-win. This investment offers the opportunity to spread the benefits of Zopa further and faster."

This round follows a December 2012 investment, led by Augmentum Capital, which is backed by RIT Capital Partners PLC, the FTSE-listed £2bn investment trust in which Jacob Rothschild and family are substantial investors. Other major investors include Bessemer Venture Partners.

About Zopa

Zopa rewards people who are good with their money by bypassing banks to deliver better rates directly to both borrowers and savers. Zopa's charges are low, simple and transparent and it does not charge borrowers for repaying loans early. Since Zopa was founded in 2005 it has arranged more than £455 million in peer-to-peer loans and has been voted 'Most Trusted Personal Loan Provider' in the Moneywise Customer Awards for the past four years. Zopa has also won Best Customer Service and Personal Loan Provider of the Year at the 2014 Moneyfacts awards. Zopa is the number one peer-to-peer finance company in the UK and a founding member of the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association.

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SOURCE Zopa