Zopa signs inaugural P2P Energy vendor deal with Flowgroup

Flowgroup develops and commercialises alternative and efficient energy technology products.  One of those is the Flow boiler, which generates electricity as it heats a home.  The Flow boiler is available to customers through an innovative finance package. This will provide a payback time of five years for the complete cost of the company’s Flow boiler.

Customers will be able to purchase the Flow boiler using a separate unsecured personal loan through Zopa, one of Europe’s largest P2P lending platform. Repayments are off-set by reductions in the customers’ home energy bills from the value of the electricity generated. 

The loans will be over a five-year fixed rate agreement which includes the capability for the customer to terminate the deal on an early-settlement basis within that period. All transactions are to take place online.

Giles Andrews, CEO and co-founder of Zopa (pictured) explained that the company has lent more than £670 million directly to UK borrowers “by cutting out the banks to give both lenders and borrowers better rates”.

Zopa and Flowgroup aim to provide their customers with “an excellent finance proposition and will enhance the awareness of both brands involved”.

In order to assist customers around the finance proposition, Flowgroup will introduce its customers directly to Zopa for finance. Flowgroup is now authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which allows Flowgroup to cut out traditional finance channels, further reducing the cost to its customers.

Giles Andrews added: “We are delighted to be working with Flow on such an innovative and disruptive product offering. This unique commercial deal offers consumers a low-cost loan to fund an innovative money saving boiler from Flow and our lenders get a great return for funding these loans.

“Flow has an excellent track record in providing value and great customer service, two key things that Zopa values in a business. We look forward to making people’s home work harder for them, just like their money can work harder by lending it through Zopa.”

Tony Stiff, Group CEO of Flowgroup, added: “We intend changing the home heating and home energy markets.  Zopa is doing the same in the personal finance industry.  Both companies share a belief in the necessity of innovating and providing an enhanced customer offering in order to drive growth.    We believe this relationship represents a great opportunity for Flow to support its boiler offering.  Being granted FCA authorization for limited credit broking underpins this offer and completes our customer proposition.”