UK-based alternative finance fund, ESF Capital, is to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Australia's leading peer-to-peer business lending platform, ThinCats Australia. ESF has also acquired a 73.4 per cent stake in ThinCats UK, which has arranged more than A$300 million of secured business loans over the last four years. In addition to the stake, ESF Capital will provide A$10 million in funding for loans on the platform in the first year, joining another 300 lenders in the provision of funds for Australia's 2.1 million small to medium sized businesses. ThinCats Australia has funded 19 loans worth more than $3 million over the last year at interest rates ranging from 11.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent to diverse businesses, including a stone importer for the building industry, commercial solar energy systems supplier, a manufacturer of nutritious superfoods, a carpet contractor, and an organic coffee distributor. Sunil Aranha, chief executive officer of ThinCats Australia, said his target was to reach $20 million in loans to businesses in his second year of trading, a projected $100 million to be lent the following year. He said the tiny amount lent to date was due to his team testing the concept, and recruiting the 'right' people to work with them. "We are now seeking business people who are not interested in putting their homes on the line to fund their enterprises, as most often required by the major banks", he said.