‘Father Of P2P’ Giles Andrews Now Leads Two Alt Lenders

By PYMNTS

Alternative SME lending platform MarketInvoice has named Giles Andrews as its first chairman, and according to reports, that means Andrews will chair the board of not one, but two alternative lending platforms.

MarketInvoice named Andrews to the position on Monday (March 20), though the executive will continue to serve as non-executive chairman of marketplace lending platform Zopa, which focuses on consumer lending.

He is dubbed the “father of peer-to-peer lending” as he created the business model used by several alternative and marketplace lenders across Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the executive explained why working for both MarketInvoice and Zopa won’t pose a conflict.

“MarketInvoice operates in a completely different market,” he told the publication. “But it shares the same philosophy as Zopa, which is bringing efficiency and customer service to a banking industry that was broken. I hope to help them through the ups and downs of their business.”

Late last year Zopa announces plans to pursue a banking license from U.K. regulators, reports said, while last month, MarketInvoice launched its factoring service to corporate borrowers.

“He’s the founding father of P2P,” said Anil Stocker, CEO and cofounder of MarketInvoice, in reference to Andrews. “He’s going to provide feedback on how to bring new products to market, how to build risk models and business strategy.”

According to reports, despite Andrews’ connection to both companies, MarketInvoice and Zopa do not have plans for collaboration or a formal alliance.