JustUs

JustUs is a UK peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform operated as a trading style of eMoneyHub Ltd. The firm is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), holding FRN 787900, and received full authorisation for peer-to-peer lending in September 2017. It trades under the JustUs brand online, with founder and CEO Lee Birkett.

The platform reports over £32 million of lending facilitated since launch and stated its loan book exceeded £30 million in January 2024 (a company disclosure rather than independently audited figure). No firm-specific FCA enforcement actions or public warnings against eMoneyHub Ltd / JustUs were identified in the sources reviewed.

JustUs operates an electronic marketplace connecting retail and other lenders with borrowers for unsecured and property-backed loans. eMoneyHub Ltd operates the system and facilitates the execution of loan agreements; it does not typically originate loans on its own balance sheet.

Client money: customer funds are held in a Barclays Bank PLC client call account, according to the firm's disclosures. This is an operational custody arrangement — it is not FSCS protection for the P2P investments themselves.

Fees: the platform's income is mainly from fees and commissions charged to borrowers. An example provided by the platform is a £245 set-up fee on a £3,500 two-year Risk Rating A loan. For investors, this means the platform's economic model is borrower-funded rather than fee-charging to lenders.

Account features: investors can bid on loans, use auto-bid settings, buy and sell micro-loans on a secondary market (subject to eligibility rules), or access pre-packaged pots with targeted returns where offered. Sale restrictions apply — loans under one month old, loans with one month or less remaining, and loans in arrears are ineligible — and availability of buyers is not guaranteed.

Loan types: JustUs primarily facilitates property-backed secured lending (homeowner loans, guarantor loans, bridging loans, buy-to-let mortgages) and some unsecured loans for homeowners. Loan sizes range from a few thousand pounds to over £1m with terms typically 1–5 years. LTV limits are disclosed by category (e.g., Balanced bridging loans up to 75% LTV, Cautious buy-to-let/bridging up to 65% LTV). Property security can reduce loss severity versus purely unsecured lending, but recovery is subject to real-world repossession and sale processes.

IFISA: JustUs has offered an Innovative Finance ISA, paying monthly interest with platform-stated 'no fees' for IFISA investors (operating costs charged to borrowers instead). The IFISA minimum was reported increased to £10,000 from March 2023, which alters accessibility for smaller retail investors.

Minimums: the platform's general minimum investment is £100; transfers c. £1,000 and withdrawals subject to a £10 minimum.

Performance: the IFISA was historically marketed with returns 'up to 6.5%' in earlier product literature — a historical figure, not a guarantee. The platform publishes a 'Lender Risk and Return Statistics' page, but granular default rates across the whole loan book are not published, which limits independent historical default analysis.

Target investor: people seeking potentially higher returns than cash savings who are prepared to accept the higher risk of P2P lending, including loss of capital and limited liquidity. P2P lending is high-risk and is not a cash-equivalent investment.

Accessibility: generally available to UK adults (18+). The reported IFISA minimum increase to £10,000 makes that product more suited to higher-net-worth individuals, family offices or institutional investors rather than small retail savers.

Borrower profile: the platform states it targets borrowers excluded from mainstream lending (e.g., sole traders, company directors, furloughed workers, people nearing retirement), which explains higher borrower interest rates relative to high-street products and affects credit risk composition.

Strengths. Direct FCA authorisation for P2P lending and consumer credit (FRN 787900) provides supervised oversight rather than appointed-representative status. The platform has been operating for over ten years and reports cumulative lending of c. £32m, providing some operational history. Product variety — property-secured and unsecured loans plus an IFISA — allows investors to choose different risk profiles within one platform.

Risks. Capital is at risk and P2P investments are not covered by the FSCS for borrower default or platform failure. While a secondary market exists, there is no guarantee of a buyer and certain loans are ineligible for sale — investors should assume limited liquidity, particularly during market stress. Comprehensive granular historical default rates across the loan book are not publicly available in the sources reviewed, constraining independent risk assessment. Claims such as 'no capital loss since inception' and loan book size are company disclosures and should be treated as such until independently audited.

No FSCS protection. Investments on the platform are not FSCS protected — a material difference from bank deposits and many retail investment wrappers.

High-risk classification. The firm and FCA classify P2P lending as higher risk, with prominent on-site warnings that capital is at risk and access to funds may be limited.

Liquidity and secondary market limitations. The existence of a secondary market does not guarantee liquidity; investors should only commit funds they can afford to lock for the term of loans.

Unverified historical claims. Certain promotional-sounding claims in older material (e.g., very large paper multiples for early investors or EIS round valuations) could not be independently verified from the sources reviewed.

Governance disclosures. The platform has a published complaints procedure and states it maintains regulatory-required arrangements (for example, a Wind Down Plan) — these are regulatory expectations rather than evidence of imminent failure; investors who require assurance on governance should review the documents directly.