Peer-to-peer (P2P) business lending platform ArchOver, has become the first UK lender to partner with Escalate, a fixed-cost commercial dispute resolution service for SMBs.
The partnership will enhance ArchOver’s ability to provide secure loans to the SME market, helping borrowers to bring in disputed payments and enhancing security for lenders as a result.
Escalate’s rapid no-win no-fee dispute resolution will enable ArchOver to recover any contested assets used as security for loans over the ArchOver platform, further enhancing its market-leading secured lending services. Escalate will ensure that lenders on the platform are protected by ensuring contested debts are paid and repayments can be made on time, working in tandem with ArchOver’s insurance partner firm Coface and the company’s all-asset charge on borrower assets.
Borrowers who don’t have time to chase down their disputed debts will also benefit from Escalate’s resolution service by using it to recover invoices that could be used for additional security. This will ultimately increase the amount they are able to borrow.
“Within the SME market, all sorts of debt tends to be written off due to the time and money it takes to chase debtors down,” says Ian Anderson, ArchOver COO. “With Escalate on board, we will now be able to help SMEs to recover that debt, managing their cash flow and increasing their ability to access essential funding as a result. Combining our monthly monitoring and insurance policies with Escalate’s dispute resolution will also enable us to provide that extra level of assurance for our lenders, reinforcing ArchOver’s position as one of the most security-focused P2P platforms in the market.”
Escalate was created by a group of leading professional services businesses to bring fixed cost, no-win no-fee services to commercial dispute. It combines the capabilities of accountancy firms PKF Littlejohn, Haines Watts and Price Bailey with law firms such as Bermans and Moore Blatch, and the expertise of Flaxmans, a legal expenses provider and insurance claims mediation specialist.
Chris Clay, one of the architects of the Escalate process, says: “Escalate’s successful launch has been supported by its network of forward-thinking partners that recognise the platform’s genuinely disruptive offer. ArchOver shares our ambitions, ethos and commitment to shaking up the market, so partnering with them was a natural next step for us.”
