Posted by COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, inflation. There have certainly been easier times to build a Baltic P2P platform in the agricultural sector over the past few years. Nevertheless, LANDE has successfully navigated through this period and has now established itself as a respected platform in the European P2P lending landscape.
What started as an ambitious agricultural financier in Latvia – operating under the name LendSecured – has quickly evolved into a licensed, pan-European platform that has successfully funded more than 1,500 agricultural projects.
After the past one and a half years were characterized by consolidation and sustainable growth, LANDE is looking to shift into higher gear in 2025. On one side, the company aims to push forward with geographic expansion by entering the Polish market; while on the other side, the managed portfolio is expected to grow to EUR 100 million by 2030.
This is reason enough to sit down with LANDE founder and CEO Nikita Goncars to talk about the current portfolio quality, strategic priorities, financing structures, and the key lessons learned from five years of platform operation.
In the interview, the LANDE CEO not only shares detailed insights into performance data and expansion plans, but also addresses critical questions regarding defaults, recovery processes, and the role of buyback guarantees.
For more information, I recommend checking out my detailed LANDE Review page.
How would you evaluate the current quality of LANDE’s portfolio? Where do you see the platform’s main strengths, and where is room for improvement?
The portfolio quality is exceptional. We’ve funded 1500+ projects, and the all-time default rate is 4,8%. It is 74 projects in 5 years. Incredible result, considering everything we have encountered! War in Ukraine, inflation, covid, high Euribor, and so on! We’ve seen many consumer and business lenders going fully bankrupt or losing major part of their investors’ funds.
The low default rate was possible because our team reacted fast. We have restructured seasonal loans without collateral to strengthen our position. We have in-house debt collection teams in each market where we operate, and they are improving continuously. This is a significant advantage compared to outsourced services.
A good example is Lithuania. Historically, the default rate there was higher than in Latvia. But in 2024, we issued 90 projects, and there are zero defaults, which is impressive. A clear sign of market maturity and increasing professionalism.
The most important point for investors is that each “vintage” is improving in quality—as is often the case with any skill-driven business. Considering this accumulated experience, the future portfolio quality will be even better. The new investors joining LANDE at this point will benefit from that.
Investor discussions in public Telegram groups have raised concerns about rising defaults and perceived inefficiencies in the recovery process. Historically, what is the average recovery timeline for defaulted loans, and what specific steps are you taking to improve recovery performance?
Telegram represents a small portion of P2P industry investors, who usually speak about negative experiences and gossip. For example, I’ve never seen Telegram users say: “I invested in LANDE project and earned 17%” And this is easily achievable with 12% projects, 3% new investors cash back, and 2% summer campaign.
This is just how human psychology works. But serious investors focus on numbers, not gossip.
Across different markets and collateral types, which loan segments have delivered the most consistent performance over the past year?
There’s little value in looking at past performance in isolation because our origination policy, team competence, and market conditions evolve constantly. I would advise diversifying rather than trying to outsmart the system.
Another point to highlight is that LANDE is a transparent platform with direct risk structure. This means we don’t cover our real default rate with a buyback guarantee. You can always see portfolio performance in real time. If you invest in 100 loans, expect about 5 defaults. You’ll see them and might even stress about them, but it will be transparent.
On platforms with “layered” risk, you aren’t exposed to real performance data. We’ve seen many cases where buyback works until it stops working. Then, instead of 5 defaults out of 100, your entire portfolio collapses. This could be due to a revoked license in an exotic market, severe currency fluctuations, or an originator going bankrupt.
I’m not saying LANDE is perfect or inherently better than buyback platforms. It’s simply a different way of presenting risk to the investor.
I often hear from influencers that there’s a new “XYZ” platform launched, pays 12% and has zero defaults because of buy-back. But this is just a different risk structure, where it is more concentrated. We should consider and educate investors on such differences.
LANDE operates in the European Union, in EUR, with hard collateral. So yes, there will be defaults, but no major, sudden surprises. Our five-year track record proves this: EUR 3 million paid to investors in interest, a profitable company, nearly EUR 1 million in equity, reinvested profits, licensed, and based in the EU.
LANDE has set an ambitious target to grow its portfolio to EUR 100 million by 2030, implying an annual increase of around EUR 20 million. What is driving this ambition, and what are the core pillars of your strategy to achieve it sustainably?
When we started LANDE in 2020, even funding a EUR 5k loan was a challenge. Raising EUR 1 million felt impossible. Then we financed EUR 10 million, then EUR 20 million, and today nearly EUR 40 million has been originated. If you check our project page, you’ll see that projects are funded quickly. Demand currently exceeds supply.
The agricultural financing market is vast, and the potential is in the billions—not hundreds of millions. I wouldn’t even call it ambition; it’s more of an internal conviction that we can achieve this goal. As I mentioned, we’ve navigated one of the toughest agro-lending periods in the last 20 years and kept our default rate below 5%. Yes, we also made some mistakes, but we’ve learned from them and don’t plan to repeat them.
The original idea behind crowdfunding and the EU crowdfunding license was to mobilize private capital to support underfinanced SMEs underserved by banks. LANDE is one of the few platforms genuinely focused on this long-term goal. Like I’ve said, the funding gap is in the billions. That’s why programs from institutions like the European Investment Fund exist—offering subordinated loans, portfolio guarantees, etc. Our vision for LANDE is full integration into the European economy, working alongside our investors to solve real problems: providing capital to local businesses, creating impact, and generating new jobs.
People often underestimate the value of an economic loop. Right now, countries shift toward internal markets, tariffs, and protectionism, European investors must consider where their investments go.
What role will retail P2P investors play in your future growth compared to institutional capital or partnerships with banks?
Retail investors are the backbone of LANDE. This is the most flexible capital you can access in financial markets. That flexibility comes at a premium for LANDE, which is why direct platform investments will always offer higher returns.
For example, we secured a credit line from a Latvian bank with an IRR of 6% + Euribor. Meanwhile, retail investors often receive 12% plus 2-3% in bonuses—almost double. But securing that credit line took six months and significant administrative effort.
You’ve announced plans to enter the Polish market. What specific agricultural segments or lending needs are you targeting there, and how do they differ from your experience in the Baltics?
Poland is a huge market—almost twice the size of all our current markets combined. Our goal is not to achieve dominant market share in each country, but rather to cherry-pick the best projects for our investors. It’s about quality, not quantity.
Diversification is also important, particularly due to climate risk. Romania is prone to drought; Latvia to floods, etc. Yet, the core needs are similar across all markets: working capital, machinery upgrades, farm expansion, and co-financing for government-subsidized programs (some offering up to 80% cashback).
How are you positioning LANDE to compete in Poland, and what are the main regulatory or operational challenges that you are currently facing?
There are no regulatory barriers. LANDE is licensed by the main EU regulator—ESMA. We have already passported our services for all EU countries. To originate loans in any EU country, we need the right legal setup and a local team, which will be overseen and supported by our head office in Riga.
How has LANDE’s risk assessment evolved in preparation for this expansion, and what lessons from the Baltic markets are you applying?
The main lesson is not to try fitting Poland into the model used in other markets. You have to adapt to local rules, learn the existing securitization structures, understand your local competition, and take things slow and safe in the beginning, like we always do with new markets.
Finances
Can you outline LANDE’s current financing structure? What is the mix between P2P investor funds, institutional financing, and bank credit lines?
The funding structure includes the platform itself, local banks, and an alternative investment fund. The fund model has become increasingly popular among European platforms. It’s relatively easy to set up and manage and is the only viable way to attract institutional and high-net-worth investor capital.
Considering your ambitious growth trajectory, do you plan to raise external funding to support your expansion? And how important is it to maintain profitability at this stage of LANDE’s development?
At this stage, we don’t see an immediate need for external funding, although we have several offers from funds on the table. Naturally, launching in new markets will incur additional costs, and we anticipate that profitability might temporarily decline. But we are prepared for that, as we have sufficient reserves in place.
I’m Denny Neidhardt, the founder of re:think P2P. On this blog, I help retail investors make smarter, well-informed investment decisions in the world of P2P lending. Since 2019, I’ve been publishing in-depth analyses, platform reviews, and risk assessments to bring more transparency to this investment space. My goal is to challenge marketing claims, question developments, and empower investors with honest, independent insights.