New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/21/2013 -- Borro, the leading personal asset lender, today proudly announced the celebration of its one-year anniversary in the U.S. market. In only one year of U.S. business, borro has quickly become the leading personal asset lender of choice for small business owners, entrepreneurs and high-net worth individuals. To date, the company has already issued loans in excess of $10,000,000 against a broad range of high value assets.

Since launching in Manhattan in February 2012, small business owners and other customers have come to appreciate the speed and ease of borro's unique online business model. There are no credit checks with borro and loans are secured against high value personal assets including luxury cars, jewelry, diamonds, luxury watches, fine wine, fine art and antiques to name a few. borro can provide loans of up to $1,000,000 and can deliver those loans to customers within 24 hours.

"The U.S. is a key market for us and it's been great to see how quickly borro has become a trusted lender in this marketplace," said Paul Aitken, CEO of borro. "A great validation of our business is the amount of repeat customers we've seen over the year. Right now we average about 85% repeat business with clients, which is a direct result of our ability to provide customers with quick and easy access to finance."

The borro platform gives individuals and small business owners across the country the ability to leverage their high-value assets into quick cash. So far, the highest value loan issued by borro has been secured against a piece of fine 19th Century furniture, a loan in excess of $300,000.

Aitken continued, "We will look to further enhance our offering by exploring the possibility of opening offices in other major U.S. cities. This would enable us to expand our current level of service and increase our reach to more people who require the liquidity and speed of service that we provide."

Earlier in the month, borro announced that Capital One Co-Founder Nigel Morris has joined the company as Chairman. Morris will support borro's growth in both the U.S. and the U.K. and further its development as the leading online lending marketplace for luxury personal assets.

Those in need of short-term finance often require loans for 3 – 6 months meaning banks are not a viable option. In an economy where lending requirements continue to pose a challenge for many, borro fills a void left by traditional banks and lenders that require credit checks, and long loan approval processes. At borro, once a value is placed against an asset, customers receive their money within 24 hours and there are no early repayment fees.

Borro has the ability to process and issue loans quickly because it employees valuators from some of the finest auction houses in the word. This enables a quick turnaround and easy access to cash.

Over the course of the next year borro plans to expand their product offerings and services to further benefit those people struggling to access finance from traditional lenders.

About borro
Borro is a personal asset lender which offers small business owners, entrepreneurs and high-net worth individuals liquidity against luxury personal assets such as watches, jewelry, prestige and classic cars, fine art and antiques. Loan values are determined by expert appraisers with over 100 years of combined experience from the top auction houses. With borro there are no credit checks and money is received within 24 hours. The service can be completed online, or in-person and borro will lend $1,000 to $1,000,000 depending on the asset.

For more information contact:
Gibbs & Soell, 212-697-2600
Kyle Kuhnel: kkuhnel@gibbs-soell.com
Katie Timinsky: ktiminsky@gibbs-soell.com
Caroline Gennaro: cgennaro@gibbs-soell.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

- Morris will lead borro through next phase of development in online lending and its future as a lending marketplace for luxury personal assets - New chairman will support accelerated growth in both US and UK

New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/14/2013 -- borro, the leading personal asset lender, today announces it has appointed Nigel Morris as chairman effective immediately. Morris – best known as the co-founder of Capital One Financial Corporation – joins borro to lead the business through its next phase of development. The appointment has been made to support borro's accelerated growth in both the US and UK markets and to help nurture its development as the leading online lending marketplace for luxury personal assets.

Morris is currently the managing partner of QED Investors, a direct investment management fund based in Alexandria, Virginia that focuses on high-growth companies. He also works in an advisory capacity with global investment firm General Atlantic Partners and international management consulting firm Oliver Wyman; alongside serving on the board of numerous for profit companies, including Red Ventures, Media Math and online payments provider Braintree. Nigel is active in the non-profit world sitting on boards of the London Business School and The Brookings Institution.

In his role, Morris will work with borro's existing board of directors led by CEO and founder Paul Aitken. The board includes non-executive directors; Dan Ciporin, General Partner of Canaan Partners; Paul Gratton, the former CEO of Egg; Tim Levene, founder of Augmentum Capital; and Ben Tompkins, general partner at Eden Ventures.

Commenting on the appointment, Paul Aitken, CEO and founder of borro, said: "Nigel Morris is a perfect choice for role of chairman at borro. He brings a wealth of experience from years at the helm of fast growing online businesses in the financial services and online payments space. We are excited about the future of borro as we develop into a lending marketplace for luxury personal assets and I'm delighted to have Nigel on board."

Nigel Morris, chairman of borro, added: "borro is at a critical point as it accelerates its growth in the US and embraces state-of-the-art on-line marketing capability. I'm excited to be part of this stage in borro's growth."

Launched in the UK in 2008 and in the US in January 2012, borro has defined a new category of lending – 'Personal Asset Lending' – in the process. With an average loan value of $10,000, borro focuses on providing liquidity from luxury personal assets.

In October 2012 borro raised $58 million to accelerate rapid growth in both the US and UK. It initially announced a $26 million fundraising round from a venture capital consortium led by tech investment giant Canaan Partners, a global venture capital firm with over $3 billion under management (general parter Dan Ciporin now sits on the borro board of directors as a non-executive director). Ribbit Capital also invested in the round, and previous investors Augmentum Capital, Eden Ventures, and Rockridge participated as well. borro then also announced a new $32 million lending facility through Octopus Investments to meet customer demand.

About borro
borro is a personal asset lender which offers small business owners, entrepreneurs and high-net worth individuals liquidity against luxury personal assets including luxury watches, jewelry, prestige and classic cars, fine art and antiques. Loan values are determined by expert appraisers with over 100 years of combined experience from the top auction houses. With borro there are no credit checks and money is received within 24 hours. The service can be completed online, or in-person and borro will lend $1,000 to $1,000,000 depending on the asset.

For more information contact:

Gibbs & Soell, 212-697-2600

Kyle Kuhnel: kkuhnel@gibbs-soell.com

Katie Timinsky: ktiminsky@gibbs-soell.com

Caroline Gennaro: cgennaro@gibbs-soell.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm