Dragonfly Property Finance says it has now lent over £1bn of lending since its launch in 2009.

The majority of the more than 1,500 loans advanced by Dragonfly to break the £1bn barrier have been for residential purposes, the lender said

Dragonfly wants to reach £2bn of lending before the end of 2015, with commercial loans making up a far greater percentage of the total as the lender grows that side of operations.

Jonathan Samuels, CEO, Dragonfly Property Finance, said: “We have come a long way since our initial £25m tranche back in 2009. The speed with which that £25m was invested set the tone for the next five years as borrowers, rejected by the high street, increasingly turned to alternative lenders to meet their needs.

“At Dragonfly, it has always given us great satisfaction to provide finance where the banks fear to tread and, with the exceptional team that we now have in place, I have no doubt we will continue to do so in the months and years ahead.”

Simon Rogerson, CEO, Octopus Investments, added: “Dragonfly Property Finance is one of the biggest forces within alternative finance and the fact that it has now hit £1bn of lending drives home why. When Dragonfly was established back in 2009, it was a bold and counter-cyclical business setting up amid the fall-out of 2008.

“Even though competition in the short-term finance sector is now fierce, Dragonfly continues to raise the bar and lead from the front. Under Jonathan’s leadership it has become a mainstay of the UK lending sector.”