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Tackling the Housing Crisis: An Interview with Berdencia
19th June 2024
In this episode of PITCH ME IN 60 SECONDS, we spoke with Berdencia, Director of Phoenix Social Enterprise. In the video above, she explains why investors should trust their business and how the company generates revenue.
Discover more below in the full interview as she discusses the urgent housing issues in Bristol and her organisation's strategic approach to addressing them. With a professional history spanning 27 years, Berdencia's team is poised to make a significant impact on the local community.
Let's dive in...
Crowd2Fund: What problem is your business solving?
Berdencia: The problem we are tackling is the housing shortage, specifically the need for affordable housing and the rise in homelessness. For instance, the housing stock in Bristol has plummeted by nearly 4,000 this year alone. There are 20,000 people on the housing waiting list, and homelessness has surged by 16%, making Bristol the third worst city for homelessness in the UK.
Crowd2Fund: What is your specific solution?
Berdencia: Our solution is to build affordable homes. We have acquired a building on a quarter-acre of land in central Bristol, which we plan to develop into 23 one and two-bedroom apartments. We are currently preparing a set of drawings to submit for pre-planning advice.
Crowd2Fund: How do you make money as a business?
Berdencia: We have five main income streams:
Employment, Education, and Training (EET) programmes, which are funded.
Commissioned research on social issues for public institutions.
Renting office space.
Hiring out our conference facilities and meeting rooms.
Hiring our premises for both indoor and outdoor events.
Crowd2Fund: Why should an investor trust you with their money?
Berdencia: We have been operational for 27 years, which speaks to our stability and experience. Our professional team works with investors, support services, government bodies, businesses, individuals, and communities. We pride ourselves on being trustworthy, transparent, competent in our work, and consistent in our dealings with others.
Crowd2Fund: Thank you very much, Berdencia.
Berdencia: Likewise, it's good to put a face to a name.
We hope you found this glimpse into Phoenix Social Enterprise enjoyable. What questions would you like to ask entrepreneurs? Email us your suggestions: info@crowd2fund.com.
And don't miss out on the opportunity to invest in Berdencia. Click here to invest: https://shorturl.at/eSEnj
Capital at Risk. Tax Treatment may vary.
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Past performance and forecasts are not reliable indicators of future results.
Your capital invested is not covered for compensation in the event of a loss by the FSCS.
Tax treatment will depend on the individual circumstances and may be subject to change. Please see our Risk section before making an investment decision.
Risk summary for P2P agreements or P2P portfolios
Estimated reading time: 2 min
Due to potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this
investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
You could lose the money you invest
Many peer-to-peer (P2P) loans are made to borrowers who can't borrow money from traditional
lenders such as banks. These borrowers have a higher risk of not paying you back.
Advertised rates of return aren't guaranteed. If a borrower doesn't pay you back as agreed, you
could earn less money than expected. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of
losing your money.
These investments can be held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). An IFISA does not reduce
the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It
only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free.
You are unlikely to get your money back quickly
Some P2P loans last for several years. You should be prepared to wait for your money to be
returned even if the borrower repays on time.
Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a 'secondary
market', but there is no guarantee you will be able to find someone willing to buy.
Even if your agreement is advertised as affording early access to your money, you will only get
your money early if someone else wants to buy your loan(s). If no one wants to buy, it could take
longer to get your money back.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky.
Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do
well.
A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk-investments.
The P2P platform could fail
If the platform fails, it may be impossible for you to collect money on your loan. It could
take years to get your money back, or you may not get it back at all. Even if the platform has
plans in place to prevent this, they may not work in a disorderly failure.
You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed
regulated firms, does not cover investments in P2P loans. You may be able to claim if you
received regulated advice to invest in P2P, and the adviser has since failed. Try the FSCS
investment protection checker here.
Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance.
If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn
more about FOS protection here.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.
For further information about peer-to-peer lending (loan-based crowdfunding), visit the FCA's website here.
