U.K. P2P mortgage platform LendInvest raises $24m from Skype cofounder Niklas Zennström

LendInvest, a peer-to-peer online mortgage platform, has closed a £17m (about $24 million) series B funding round from Atomico, the tech VC firm founded by Niklas Zennström, Skype’s cofounder.

The raise, which brings the company’s total institutional funding to over £200m (about $285 million), comes after the company announced a £22m (about $31 million) series A round from Beijing Kunlun, a Chinese technology firm.

Christian Faes, cofounder and CEO of LendInvest, commented: “To receive this backing from Atomico is an awesome opportunity for LendInvest. Atomico is a rare example of a VC firm whose founder has first-hand experience of building a multi-billion dollar, fast growth technology company, and that was hugely attractive to us.

“We have only scratched the surface of how technology will make mortgages a better, faster and more transparent consumer experience for borrowers and investors,” added Faes.

Founded in 2013, LendInvest claims to have lent £560m (about $800 million) to help finance 2,100 properties across the U.K. and says it will use the newly secured funds to extend its lead in the property finance market.

Mattias Ljungman, partner at Atomico, commented: “We’re impressed with Christian and Ian’s vision and ambition to disrupt the established lending industry. Their lending and borrowing marketplace is bringing speed, efficiency and transparency to a traditionally cumbersome process.

“We’re excited about working with the team to ensure that their great product is underpinned by the best technology, and to take their business to the next level,” he concluded.