The UK’s alternative finance sector is poised for a major shift in composition, as a wave of consolidation starts to sweep through the country’s crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lender platforms.

According to Financial Times correspondent Hugo Greenhalgh, crowdfunding platforms in the UK are proliferating as their technology gains wider and wider acceptance. Market research firm Crowdsurfer estimates that, globally, over 200 new platforms launch every year.

Industry expert Alex Heath, co-founder of equity crowdfunding ratings service CrowdRating.co.uk, said:

“Nobody has a monopoly on financial services for very long. Inevitably there is going to be consolidation. But I suspect like any other exchange there will be room for several players in each segment, both on the peer-to-peer lending side and the equity crowdfunding side.”

Investor interest in peer-to-peer lenders is multiplying ahead of the launch of the Innovative Finance ISA in April next year. For the first time, this will permit investors to put their money into p2p lending on a tax-free basis. The Treasury is also now consulting on whether to include equity crowdfunding in the new ISA.

Despite the move toward consolidation, including the rise of aggregator sites which compare deals across a range of platforms and offer brokerage services, most of the established sites are firmly against the trend.

Moreover, someUnbolted offers secured asset loans against valuable possessions owned by its borrowers, providing fast, low-cost loans for the many people who find themselves temporarily cash poor but who also happen to be asset rich.