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Lendermarket Analysis

Loan Originator Debt
Peer-to-Peer Lending

Last updated in January 2024.

What is Lendermarket?

Established in 2019 by Aaro Sosaar, who also serves as the CEO and founder of Creditstar Group, a loan originator affiliated with the platform. Lendermarket is an unlicensed investment platform operating from Tallinn, Estonia with its company registered in Ireland. The platform serves as the bridge connecting investors, both individual and institutional, to loans facilitated by digital consumer finance companies across diverse European countries, and recently Mexico.

Investors from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland can join the platform. For family trusts, partnerships, and LLC companies, a prerequisite for participation is the possession of a bank account in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland. Since its inception in 2019, Lendermarket has successfully attracted over €387.58 million from investors, boasting a consistent monthly volume averaging €7.63 million.[1] The platform claims to have attracted more than 17,000 investors.[2]

Key Takeaways

  • Lendermarket links investors with loan originators enabling investors access to investments in consumer debt products starting at a minimum of €10.
  • The platform is operated by the same company that owns Creditstar Group, which provides investment opportunities on Lendermarket.
  • Loan durations range from 431 days to over 8.5 years, with interest rates ranging from 15% to 17%.
  • All loans on Lendermarket come with a buyback guarantee.

How Lendermarket Works

Lendermarket serves as a gateway, connecting investors with various loan originators in Europe. Investors enter into loan agreements with Lendermarket, which facilitates the connection between its investor community and the loan originators. Among its partners are Creditstar Group, where Lendermarket's founder currently serves as the CEO, as well as Dineo, ITF, QuickCheck, RapiCredit, and the recently joined CrediFiel from Mexico.[3]

Investors can choose from various consumer debt investment products that start at €10, including short and long-term loans with durations ranging from 431 days to more than 8.5 years across the current 391 available investments. Loan repayments are made monthly, structured as amortized loans with interest paid and partial principal returned to investors. Lendermarket loans range from €454 to €10,000.[4]

All loans on Lendermarket come with a buyback guarantee. If a loan is over 60 days overdue, the loan originator repurchases it at the original amount, including both principal and interest.[5] Furthermore, loan originators are required to invest a specific percentage in each loan, typically maintaining a 5% stake in the game for any particular loan.[6]

Lendermarket does not provide a secondary market for early exits but offers an auto-invest feature to queue new investments. The platform primarily offers loans from Creditstar Group, where Lendermarket’s founder serves as the CEO, implying some control over the loan supply for investors.

Lendermarket Returns & Fees

Lendermarket currently lists 391 investments with interest rates ranging from 15% to 17%.[7] Since its launch, the platform has paid out over €16.6 million in interest to investors. However, Lendermarket has not disclosed the total amount returned to investors, payment delays, or loan default statistics.[8]

Lendermarket does not impose direct fees on lenders. The platform primarily generates revenue via service fees and brokerage fees collected from loan originators. The exact amount or percentage of these fees charged to borrowers has not been disclosed.

Lendermarket Management

Aaro Sosaar, the current CEO of Creditstar Group, is the sole owner of 'SA Financial Investments OU,' holding 100% of the shares in both Lendermarket and Creditstar. Carles Federico, who has been Lendermarket's CEO since September 2023, previously managed Creditstar in Spain, initiating the establishment of a financial microloan company branch. Alongside Federico, Helari Laurent serves as the CTO and Gerald Kostak is the Head of Growth, bringing experience in operations and business development. Narek Vardanyan holds dual roles as the Product Marketing Manager at Lendermarket and the SEO Manager at Creditstar Group. Lendermarket is registered in Ireland but operates from Tallinn, Estonia.

Special Considerations

According to Lendermarket it is advancing in its crowdfunding license application under European regulations (ECSPR). The company is currently in the final stages of the application process, awaiting approval from European regulatory authorities. During this period, new loan listings are temporarily paused, with plans to resume upon license approval.[9] The deadline for applying to the ECSP crowdfunding license was November the 10th, 2023. The platform has today not received the license as a Crowdfunding platform and is reselling loans as an investment platform. There are currently 391 available investment opportunities on the platform.

As of 2022, there have been no reported profits or losses for the entity. Meanwhile, its partner and loan originator, Creditstar Group, disclosed an estimated turnover of €95,383 in 2022 and €147,125 in 2023.[10]

Grant Thornton, the independent accounting and advisory firm, conducted the audit for Lendermarket's latest publicly available annual report for the year 2021 (2022 and 2023 is not available as of today). Over the reporting period spanning from December 2020 to December 2021, Lendermarket disclosed a gross loss amounting to €245,522. It is noteworthy that this loss represents an improvement compared to FY2020’s loss of €276,691.[11]

Article Sources

  1. P2PMarketData: “Lendermarket Statistics
  2. Lendermarket: “Homepage - About Us - Registered Users
  3. Lendermarket: “Loan Originators
  4. Lendermarket: “Loan Listings - Amount 
  5. Lendermarket: “FAQ - How safe are investments?
  6. Lendermarket: “FAQ - What is skin in the game?
  7. Lendermarket: “Loan Listings - Interest rate 
  8. Lendermarket: “Loan Statistics
  9. Lendermarket: “Navigating Regulatory Waters
  10. Kreedix Group - Score Storybook: “SA Financial Investments OU - Financials
  11. Grant Thornton: “Lendermarket Annual Audit Report 2021