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14 November 2017 – El Mundo
Civislend is commencing operations in Spain. The Participative Financing Platform (PFP) is a pioneer in real estate crowdlending in Spain. Authorised by the National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) and the Bank of Spain, its aim is to mediate between property developers and investors, streamlining the bureaucratic processes and simplifying all of the administrative procedures to raise funds quickly and safely in exchange for the payment of interest. The company aspires to become the leading portal for the financing of real estate projects.
Manuel Gandarias (pictured above), CEO of Civislend, defines the platform as “an effective meeting point between real estate developers looking for a source of financing that complements traditional bank lending and investors interested in obtaining an attractive return on their savings”. Gandarias insists that “Civislend does not substitute banking institutions, but rather provides sufficient resources to finance the land on which real estate projects are developed, whereby serving as a trampoline for the granting of property developer loans”.
The comprehensive risk analysis that Civislend carries out before publishing a project on the Marketplace is one of the best guarantees of success compared with other alternatives based on crowdfunding that already exist in Spain. “The strict control filters that we apply in Civislend reduce the risk of non-payment to the minimum, in order to ensure that investors are protected as much as possible”, says Gandarias.
First projects already underway
Civislend has just launched the fund raising phase for its first two projects, which can be viewed in the Marketplace. They are two 20-home residential complexes, located in Brunete (Madrid) and Tomares (Sevilla). Both have received a type A scoring, which means that investors may obtain an APR of 7.88% and 7.90%, respectively, over 20 months, with a minimum risk and the payment of interest every four months.
The whole process begins when a property developer requests financing. A preliminary study is carried out, which serves to check the firm’s solvency, as well as the suitability of the real estate project. Next, a feasibility study is conducted, which involves the performance of a due diligence, after which the project is granted a rating on the basis of its risk profile: minimum (A and A+), medium (B and B+) and moderate (C and C+). These guarantees are complemented by other actions such as the pledging of shares in the companies responsible for developing the project and the registration of charges (liens) over the assets, where appropriate.
Any savers looking to obtain returns from their funds, with a controlled risk, can invest in Civislend. After registering, investors may choose the project that interests them the most in the Marketplace and decide how much they want to contribute. Non-accredited investors may invest between €250 and €3,000 per project or up to €10,000 per year in all PFPs in Spain, whilst there are no limits on how much accredited investors can invest. The property developers who approach Civislend in search of financing may request up to €5 million. For projects amounting to less than €2 million, both non-accredited and accredited investors may invest; whilst for projects worth more than €2 million, only accredited investors may invest.
Gandarias points out that “depending on the scoring of the project, investors will receive an annual interest return of between 6% and 12%. (…).
Original story: El Mundo
Translation: Carmel Drake