Crowdpear Analysis

Crowdpear was launched in January 2023 by the team behind PeerBerry, a Croatian crowdfunding platform founded by Aventus Group, one of Europe’s largest non-banking lending groups in Vilnius, Lithuania. Crowdpear specializes in Real Estate debt investment products, categorized into three project types: real estate development, business, and refinancing.

As an EU-level regulated crowdfunding platform (ECSP), Crowdpear is accessible to investors within the European Union or the European Economic Area (EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). Since its launch, Crowdpear has raised over €4.28 million, maintaining a monthly average volume of €0.36 million in 2023.^[1] The platform boasts a community of 5,770 investors.^[2]

• Crowdpear, a spin-off from PeerBerry, shares the same team. Crowdpear was created to specialize in EU-regulated Real Estate crowdfunding, while PeerBerry focuses solely on its consumer loan business.
• Investments on Crowdpear range in size from €22,200 to €165,500 across its various real estate products: development, business and refinancing.
• The minimum investment is set at €100 and interest rates vary between 9.5% to 15%.
• Current loan terms have a duration between 1.5 months to 1 year.
• The Crowdpear platform provides a secondary market for early exit.

Crowdpear offers secured loans in Lithuania, backed by real estate mortgages. Some projects are covered by pledges, borrower's assets, and personal surety.^[3]

Investors can choose from three types of real estate projects: development, business, and refinancing, with a minimum investment of €100. Currently, there's one active campaign with a 1-year duration. On the secondary market, 62 investments are available, with loan durations from 1.5 months to 1 year. Repayment is structured as a bullet loan, with interest paid monthly or quarterly. The principal is returned when the loan matures. Campaign sizes range from €22,000 to €165,000.^[4]

Crowdpear does not offer a buyback guarantee or an auto-invest feature. The platform is not covered by Lithuania's deposit insurance laws and is not part of the European Parliament and Council directives for deposit guarantee systems and investor compensation schemes.^[5]

Since its launch, Crowdpear has facilitated 92 funded projects with no payment delays or defaults. The platform lists 63 investments in its primary and secondary markets, offering an interest rate ranging from 9.5% to 15%. Crowdpear has paid out over €123,232 in interest and returned a total of €552,800 to investors.^[6]

The platform does not directly charge fees to investors. However, a 15% income tax is deducted from interest payments to non-Lithuanian tax residents. To reduce this withholding tax, investors can complete the DAS-1 form, benefiting from Lithuania's double taxation agreement with most European countries.^[7] The platform generates revenue through operator fees of 2% to 5%, brokerage fees, and administration fees charged to fundraisers.^[8]

Crowdpear is run by the team from PeerBerry, led by CEO Vytautas Olšauskas. Vytautas is a successful entrepreneur in the Banking and Fintech industry, licensed by the European Central Bank to operate banking businesses. He is also the founder of Finhike and Mano Bankas, where he serves as the chairman. Vytautas holds a 25% stake in PeerBerry. Working alongside him is Arūnas Lekavičius, Development Director and CEO of PeerBerry. Rita Simanavičiūtė, with over 20 years of experience in strategic marketing and communications, is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Tadas Bulota serves as the platform's Lawyer and Compliance Officer.

Two of the three shareholders at Crowdpear are the same as at PeerBerry. Vytautas Stražnickas is the majority shareholder with a 50% stake and is also a member of the Aventus Group management. Crowdpear's CEO, Vytautas Olšauskas and investor Ivan Butov each hold a 25% stake in the company. Based in Vilnius, Lithuania and registered since July 2021, “UAB Crowdpear” has a share capital of €130,000.^[9]

Crowdpear has not shared its financial statements. In Q3-2023, Crowdpear secured the ECSP license and reported substantial growth. Fully funded loans reached €1.33 million, a 72% increase from Q2-2023. Investors received €22,846 in interest, and all borrowers met their obligations punctually. Crowdpear's portfolio totaled €2.4 million by September's end, with an average LTV of 57.31%. The platform's annual ROI stood at 11.15%. With 3,564 investors, 30% actively engage in Crowdpear.^[10]