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.