Triggered by her speech on the EU referendum at the Worthing Chamber of Commerce AGM, patron Gill Fielding and Tony Hedger struck up a conversation about the impact to local business and their ability to sustain a healthy and vibrant local economy.

The result is a new business relationship and Gill joining the board of Peer Funding Limited with a focus to generate a national peer to peer marketplace with a local heart, based in Chichester, West Sussex.

Peer Funding, due to launch in September 2016, is one of only nine peer-to-peer platforms in the UK fully authorised by the FCA.

The concept of peer to peer business lending emerged out of the last financial crisis as an effective method of directly funding quality credit worthy businesses where high street banks were dragging their heels. Following the Brexit vote, it’s unlikely the banks will speed up their lending practices, so it’s a win-win for investors and business borrowers, where local businesses get the funding required exactly when they need them and investors stand to get a return better than they would in a normal savings account.

Peer Funding will offer a range of short term to long term business finance products where investors can build a balanced portfolio around their risk to reward appetite, to include:

Peer Funding is currently running a pre-launch ‘Early Bird’ incentive for interested investors’ and is actively looking for local businesses to support. More information can be found at https://peerfunding.co.uk/

Commenting – Tony Hedger, Channel and Commercial Director says: “This just shows the power of local networking and the benefits of being a chamber of commerce member”