Raising Money from the City

LendInvest is the a marketplace for property finance, providing fast finance for property professionals and access to invest in secured property loans. In this Leap 100 Breakfast, you will hear from both Christian Faes (Co-Founder & Chief Executive) and Ian Thomas (Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer).

LendInvest has raised £40m equity and £800m debt raised to date. This event will explore:

• How to approaching the City and building long-term relationships;
• How to communicate a different/new business model;
• Using and separating yourself from the hype;
• Why profitability can be difficult for investors to value.

Christian Faes, Co-Founder & Chief Executive

Christian started his career as a real estate lawyer in Australia with Allens Arthur Robinson. He was subsequently a partner at a boutique law firm and founded a mezzanine mortgage finance business. He has also practised as a securitisation lawyer at Clifford Chance and in-house legal counsel at Deutsche Bank, both in London. In 2008, Christian co-founded Montello, the leading UK bridging finance lender, before spinning it out to create LendInvest in 2013.

Christian is a keen advocate for the fintech sector, as well as an active supporter and early investor in several startups, including Seedrs, Crowdcube, Plentific and Onfido.

Ian Thomas, Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer

A qualified chartered surveyor, Ian has many years’ experience of property valuation, mixed-use development and investment acquisitions in both the UK and abroad, previously holding senior positions at Ballymore and SEGRO. In 2013, Ian co-founded LendInvest with Christian, spinning it out of their previous business, Montello.

Ian oversees all investment strategy and decision-making at LendInvest. He is a regular speaker at property industry events, a member of the MIPIM ProTech Advisory Committee and an active investor in several PropTech startups.