CG24 Group Analysis

Launched in March 2015, CG24 Group is a Swiss financing marketplace that connects borrowers with private and institutional investors, offering personal, real estate, and business loans. The platform provides three different investment products: Business Credit, consisting of debts structured as amortisation loans, bullet loans, and factoring/working capital financing; Private Credit, comprising consumer loans, refinancing, and reverse mortgages; and Real Estate with Mezzanine financing. CG24 Group is regulated by the Self Regulatory Organization Verein zur Qualitätssicherung von Finanzdienstleistungen in Switzerland.

Investors with a Swiss bank account, excluding United States citizens, can invest on the platform.^[1] Since its launch, CG24 has raised more than CHF1 billion out of a cumulative total of CHF2.4 billion in requested credit amount, with an average monthly volume of CHF4.23 million. The platform boasts a community of 29,633 users.^[2]

• CG24 Group connects Swiss borrowers with private and institutional investors, offering personal, real estate, and business loans.
• Investments start at CHF500, with loan terms ranging from 2 to 36 months.
• CG24 currently offers interest rates ranging from 7.1% to 12.9%, with repayment terms varying by investment product: monthly for Private Credit, quarterly for Real Estate Products, and monthly, quarterly, or as bullet loans for Business Loans.
• The platform charges investors service fees ranging from 0.25% to 2.726% on repayments, while fundraisers face upfront fees of CHF100 to CHF500, alongside a CHF10 identification fee.

CG24 Group operates as a platform that connects investors with three types of Swiss borrowers: private individuals, real estate entities, and businesses. Investors have the option to select from three loan categories: Private Credit, Real Estate, and Business Credit, each requiring a minimum investment of CHF500. Private Credit includes consumer loans, refinancing, and reverse mortgages, while Real Estate debt instruments consist of mezzanine financing. Business Credit is structured to include amortization loans, bullet loans, as well as factoring or working capital financing.

Among the active campaigns, investment durations range from 2 to 36 months, with project targets varying from CHF26,500 to CHF400,000. CG24 does not allocate funds for default risk through a provision fund.^[3] However, depending on the loan, borrowers are required to obtain a death benefits insurance policy covering a theoretical residual debt loss of CHF100,000, or a Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) or credit default insurance as collateral. Investments are packaged into a series of notes, mitigating the impact of loan defaults by spreading them across all loans within the same rating level and type through loan default pooling.^[4]

Repayment terms differ depending on the type of investment product. For Private Credit, payments are made monthly;^[5] for Real Estate Products, the platform follows a quarterly schedule,^[6] and for Business Loans, repayments can be either monthly, quarterly, or structured as bullet loans.^[7] CG24 offers a secondary market for investors to sell their investments before term completion. The platform does not offer an auto-invest feature for queuing new investments.

CG24 does not deduct taxes on interest rates. However, it is up to investors to file taxes accordingly. A comprehensive tax statement is provided annually, and the platform does not charge any additional costs for preparing the tax statement.^[8]

Among the active campaigns, CG24 offers interest rates ranging from 7.1% to 12.9%.^[9] Since its launch, the platform has paid out a total of CHF 53.6 million in interest payments. CG24 reports a delay rate of 3.4% for loans overdue for 1 to 30 days and 0.2% for loans overdue for 31 to 90 days. Although CG24 did not explicitly provide a default rate, we can assume that it is extremely low, as fewer than 0.1% of the loans are overdue for more than 91 days.^[10]

The platform charges investors various fees, including a service fee ranging from 0.25% to 2.726% on each repayment, along with other administrative charges. On the fundraisers’ side, CG24 charges a CHF10 fee for identification, as well as a minimum of CHF100 to CHF500 for upfront service fees, along with various administrative fees. Additionally, the platform collects up to 1% of the outstanding loan amount or a minimum of CHF50 for preparing instalment repayment plans.^[11] CG24 primarily generates revenue through service fees and brokerage fees collected from loan originations, as well as various service fees charged to fundraisers and investors.

Christoph M. Mueller is the Founder and current CEO of CG24 Group. Before establishing CG24, he co-founded both CT Academy AG and Rebolet. CT Academy AG specialized in professional training services, particularly in ICT, while Rebolet focused on sustainable Return Management and Re-commerce in E-commerce. Serving alongside Mueller is Miro Spinnler, who holds the position of CG24's CFO. Spinnler possesses an MSc in Finance and a CFA designation, along with extensive experience in M&A and private banking. Sandra Gonçalves, the internal Quality Assurance Director, contributes over 20 years of banking expertise, with a focus on startups, finance, HR, and compliance. Leading Origination and Investor Solutions Retail is Denisa Ganciu, who brings over five years of credit analysis experience, alongside a background in economics, banking, and finance, as well as advanced education in real estate valuation.

The shareholder structure of CG24 Group has not been disclosed. However, among the key investors are Daniel Gutenberg, a renowned Swiss Angel Investor, Impact51, Swissnex Boston, and Swiss Finance Startups. Previously known as CreditGate24, the platform rebranded to CG24 Group after CreditGate24 acquired Advanon GmbH, another Swiss debt financing platform, in a merger deal in late May 2020.^[12]

CG24 has not disclosed any financial information. The Group’s latest funding was raised on April 1, 2020, through a Venture Series.^[13] Prior to this, CG24 secured two early-stage VC rounds, one in June 2017 totalling $1.53 million, and another in October 2018 amounting to $6.15 million. Additionally, the platform received funding from several accelerator and incubator rounds, the amounts of which remain undisclosed.^[14]

CG24 has garnered recognition and accolades for its contributions to the financial sector. Notable awards include the Banking and Fintech-focused BBVA Open Talent Awards in Zurich in 2018,^[15] the Swiss FinTech Award in 2017, and the Swiss FinTech Award in 2019.^[16]