LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Technology-focussed property finance asset manager LendInvest reported a 33% year-on-year improvement in platform assets under management for the latest half-year on Monday, to £2.43bn.
The AIM-traded firm said funds under management totalled £3.44bn at the end of the six months ended 30 September, up 20% on the same period a year earlier.

It said there was "considerable" short-term uncertainty around macroeconomic conditions, but added through its technology platform, it responded "quickly" to volatile market movements by ensuring it re-priced its products and remained open for new business.

At the same time, LendInvest said it had tightened its credit appetite to protect investor returns, given the heightened risk of falling property prices.

Platform assets under management growth in the first half was in line with market expectation.

The board said the macro impact was likely to reduce the rate of growth, particularly in buy-to-let, in the second half of the current year, as it reduced its growth in operational expenditure accordingly.

"We now expect that profit before tax for the full year will be in-line with the previous year," the board said in its statement.

"We have taken this cautious approach mindful of the significant difficulties in short term forecasting given the economic and market backdrop.

"We remain confident in our ability to deliver our future growth aspirations, maintain our progressive dividend policy and deliver shareholder value."

The company said its proprietary technology gave it a "significant competitive edge", and provided it with both flexibility and resilience.

Chief executive officer Rod Lockhart said the UK property finance market was "ripe for disruption", with the firm's performance over the last six months reflecting the "attractiveness" of its technology-driven platform for borrowers and funding partners alike.

"We grew across all lending products in the first half of the year, particularly in buy-to-let, but also in bridging and development which benefited from our innovative new broker portal," Lockhart said.

"We remain on track to launch our specialist homeowner product later this year.

"Looking ahead, we are acutely aware of the disruption in the UK mortgage market, which is affecting confidence and for the moment, applications for new mortgages have slowed across the market."

Recent market dislocation demonstrated the flexibility and speed to market capability of the platform, Rod Lockhart added.

"This provides us with a competitive edge, flexibility, and proven risk management capabilities, which in addition to the size of our addressable markets and our strong financial position, gives us confidence in our long-term prospects."

At 1222 BST, shares in LendInvest were down 24.1% at 74p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.

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