Los Angeles-based Real Estate Equity Crowdfunding Platform Raises ~$24 Million to Fund Debt Investments and Pre-funded Real Estate Loans

Targeting one of the fastest growing verticals within the lending marketplace, Patch of Land’s real estate equity crowdfunding site has emerged as one of the industry’s most innovative companies

By Robert Hoskins

Los Angeles, CA – PatchofLand.com announced that it has raised $23.6 million to finance one of the leading crowdfunding solutions for the real estate industry that brings together borrowers and lenders through a simple online interface.

The oversubscribed Series A round was led by SF Capital Group, a private investment firm focused on direct equity and debt investments in the financial technology space. Neil Wolfson, President of SF Capital Group will also join the Board of Directors of Patch of Land. Ron Suber, president of Prosper Marketplace, a leading online marketplace for consumer credit, also participated in the Series A round as a strategic investor.

Patch of Land Real Estate Crowdfunding Raises $23.6 Million to Expand Debt Investments

“We are very pleased to have completed this round of financing,” said Jason Fritton, CEO Patch of Land’s CEO. “We look forward to working with SF Capital Group and welcome Neil to our board. Our ability to attract sophisticated investors such as SF Capital and industry thought leaders like Ron Suber clearly validates the strength of our business model. Neil and Ron understand marketplace lending and their collective advice and network of contacts will be integral to our continued growth and success.”

As one of the biggest issuers, by volume, of 506(c) real estate debt investments, Patch of Land will use the capital from the Series A financing to aggressively increase its market share and further expand the company’s leadership position through additional investment in the technology and data systems that power the marketplace. The company will also utilize these funds to hire additional leading real estate and technology professionals.

“The real estate lending marketplace is quickly transforming the way investors and developers interact, and Patch of Land is at the forefront of this change,” said Neil Wolfson, SF Capital Group’s President. “Patch of Land was one of the first companies to focus exclusively on real estate debt investments and the first to offer pre-funded loans, which dramatically shortens the time developers wait to get funded. The company is a true pioneer within this industry and its consistent and steady focus is clearly evident through the rapid growth of its portfolio. We are excited to work with this dynamic team and help them capture the tremendous opportunity they have identified.”

“I have witnessed first-hand the emergence and growth of marketplace lending. Real estate is one of the fastest growing verticals within all of marketplace lending, and Patch of Land has emerged as one of the most disruptive and innovative companies,” said Ron Suber. “I am very excited to help the company reach the next stage in its growth cycle.”

For over a year, Patch of Land has consistently grown its portfolio of short-term residential and commercial loans to qualified borrowers across America, quickly earning its place as one of the top real estate crowdfunding companies to launch since the JOBS Act was passed into law.

SF Capital Group is a private investment firm representing the interests of a single family. The firm invests across all asset classes with a flexible, long-term investment focus. SF Capital’s portfolios include allocations to traditional as well as alternative investments such as hedge funds and private equity. The firm also invests in direct equity and debt investments of private companies.

Patch of Land (POL) is a crowdfunding solution for real estate financing that brings together borrowers and lenders through a simple online interface. Patch of Land’s goal is to solve the problem of inefficient, fragmented, and opaque real estate lending by using technology, data-driven processes, and expert human touch to create transparency and efficiently underwrite projects.

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Lend Academy and NowStreet Media to Host LendIt Peer-to-Peer Lending Conference in New York

By Robert Hoskins

Lend Academy, the preeminent resource for the P2P lending industry, and NowStreet Media, producer of acclaimed financial events that highlight Wall Street transformations, are pleased to announce LendIt, the first global conference for the burgeoning P2P and online lending industry. Peer-to-Peer and online lending (collectively, “online lending”) is a relatively new asset class that is rapidly revolutionizing the credit markets and transforming the global banking industry.

Industry Influencers Introduce LendIt, the Inaugural Peer-to-Peer (P2P) & Online Lending Conference

Online lending seeks to exploit the structural mispricing and funding inefficiencies in the traditional banking sector. Through the use of technology, online lenders are able to compress the cost of originating, servicing, and funding traditional loans. As a result, borrowers receive a lower interest rate while lenders receive a very attractive rate of return. Online lending marketplaces have emerged globally for personal loans, student loans and small business loans. With interest rates at all-time lows and big banks hording cash, online lending marketplaces have tapped into a variety of investor sources ranging from large pension funds all the way down to self-directed individual investors.

LendIt is being held at the prestigious Convene Innovation Center in Manhattan on Thursday, June 20, 2013. The day will bring together the industry’s most influential leaders including: Renaud Laplanche, Lending Club‘s CEO, the largest peer-to-peer lending company as well as Ron Suber, Head of Global Institutional Sales for Prosper Marketplace, the nation’s second largest. Combined, these companies have already originated more than $2 billion in loans.

In addition to a powerful lineup of keynote presentations, interactive panels discussions and extensive networking, the event will feature the world’s first exhibit of peer-to-peer and peer-to-business lending portals.

Attendees will include institutional investors, private wealth managers, family offices and individual investors. Admission tickets can be obtained directly at http://lendit2013.eventbrite.com/. Complimentary press passes will be provided to pre-approved journalists and editorial staff.

Peter Rention,  Lend Academy’s CEO said, “There has never been a more opportune time to launch the LendIt Conference. The recent rapid growth of online lending has captured the attention of large and small investors alike. We look forward to introducing the investing community to the leading online lending platforms, the providers serving the sector as well as the Wall Street firms that are providing innovative financing structures and capital to this new asset class.”

“It is an enormous privilege to be working with Peter whose work is so highly regarded within the P2P industry. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to, once again, break new ground in the Wall Street convention space with the launch of another cutting-edge industry conference,” stated Dara Albright, NowStreet’s CEO.

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