An update from the Director on the platform's 2024 results — how your funds work, the figures behind the year, the capital position, and the road ahead in 2025.
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An update from the Director on the platform's 2024 results — how your funds work, the figures behind the year, the capital position, and the road ahead in 2025.
Dear Investors,
I am glad to share with you the results of 2024 — for Maclear this was a year of confident, multifold growth, and I am pleased to explain what stands behind it. This document gives a complete picture of how the platform developed and the results with which it closed 2024, so that you can see your investment as clearly as we see it.
First of all, I want to thank you for your trust and patience. 2024 was a period of multifold growth for the platform: the portfolio of issued loans grew almost thirteenfold, and revenue sevenfold. This growth is managed: behind every loan are real investor funds, placed according to a working model, and throughout this time the platform met its obligations to you on time. It is your support that made such growth possible.
You are receiving the annual report later than the usual deadline, and the reason is simple. The scale of operations grew several times over, and preparing the reporting for such a year required significantly more thorough reconciliation of the data. During the same period, we strengthened our financial framework: we engaged an auditor and changed the accountant. These are steps taken for the sake of the quality and transparency of our accounting — and we deliberately chose to spend the necessary time to give you verified figures. The report is now in the final stage of audit; the data presented is final, and we are fully confident in it.
What you will find in this document. I have structured it to answer, in turn, the questions that matter most to you:
On the following pages is the full picture: the figures, the explanations, and the logic of the platform's development. The trust you have placed in us is, to me, Maclear's main asset, and I intend to treat it accordingly.
Maclear is a crowdlending platform: we raise investor funds, direct them into loans, and earn on the fee for arranging and servicing these loans, as well as on the payment companies make to connect to the platform (onboarding). Hence a simple logic: the natural place for investors' money is not the platform's account, but issued loans that generate income. This is exactly what the balance sheet as at 31 December 2024 shows.
Investor funds work as loans in full. 95% of the platform's assets is the issued loan portfolio of CHF 9,297,015. Funds raised from investors are directed into loans in full: they do not remain in the platform's accounts but are placed for their intended purpose, work, and generate income, forming the basis for settlements with investors. For a crowdlending platform, this is a healthy, normal state of the balance sheet — investors' money does not sit idle.
The cash balance is the platform's own operating funds. The cash of CHF 439,654 does not belong to investor capital: these are Maclear's own operating funds, formed from commission income and current receipts. They ensure the smooth operation of the platform — a liquidity buffer for operating activities, as well as funds in the process of ongoing settlements. The balance sheet is a snapshot of a single day in the constant movement of funds: at any moment, money is at different stages of the cycle — being raised, issued, repaid by borrowers, directed to investors.
Over the year, the volume of funds at work grew manyfold. The dynamics of the portfolio and of fundraising over 2024 show that the platform did not accumulate the funds raised but immediately directed them into issuing new loans:
Technological foundation. The remaining 0.5% of assets (CHF 52,140) is the platform's own software, on which the entire model rests: raising funds, arranging and servicing loans, and settlements with investors and borrowers.
The structure of assets is simple and transparent: investor funds are fully placed in loans, while the cash balance and the technology platform are Maclear's own operating base. The company has no other material assets.
2024 was the year in which growth turned from plans into results. The platform's revenue — the fee for arranging and servicing loans and the onboarding fee — grew sevenfold over the year: from CHF 106,097 to CHF 758,222. The logic is direct: the more investor funds the platform places and services, the higher its commission income.
The platform's own income is the fee for arranging and servicing loans and the onboarding fee. In addition, the platform receives interest from borrowers and pays interest and bonuses to investors, providing a return on their investments. So that both the platform's revenue and its settlements with investors are visible, we present the income side in detail:
Investors received more than the borrowers paid. In 2024 the platform paid investors interest (530,266) and bonuses (297,583) — a total of CHF 827,849, whereas borrowers paid interest of 464,322. The platform deliberately covered this difference from its own commission income. The larger part of the difference is bonuses to investors over and above interest: an investment in returns and loyalty during the growth stage. In addition, borrowers' payment discipline does not always exactly match the schedule, and, so that you do not face delays, the platform smoothed such discrepancies at its own expense. To date this has remained a matter of timing, not of losses: the platform has not encountered defaults on the loans issued — which confirmed the soundness of this approach. After all settlements with investors, the platform retained net revenue of CHF 394,694, with a margin of 52.1%.
Operationally, the platform reached the break-even point. The main result of the year is visible at the EBITDA level: operating activity came right up to zero — CHF −7,188, or −0.9% of revenue, against −74,844 a year earlier. A year ago, each franc of revenue carried a substantial operating loss; in 2024 the platform's income already almost fully covers the costs of running it — marketing, acquisition, and platform development.
The bottom-line result is an investment in growth. For the year, the platform reported a loss of CHF 122,941, close to the previous year's in absolute terms. But relative to the scale of activity, the picture changed dramatically: a year ago the loss exceeded 100% of revenue, while in 2024 it was 16.2%. With sevenfold revenue growth, the loss in relative terms shrank manyfold. The larger part of the bottom-line loss falls not on operating activity (which came to almost zero), but on items below the operating level — amortisation of the platform and financial expenses. What this result means for the platform's capital, and how we are moving towards a positive result, is in the next section.
The platform navigated 2025 more confidently than the previous year; more on where we are heading is in the concluding section.
We come to the part of the reporting that calls for the most direct conversation — equity. Let us put it plainly: at the end of 2024 the platform's equity is negative and amounts to CHF −87,026. We show this openly and explain why it happened and what we are doing about it — because trust is built on the full picture, not on convenient fragments.
This is the cost of rapid growth, not of operational problems. The negative equity did not arise because the platform works poorly: as shown above, operationally it came to practically zero. It reflects the loss accumulated over a period of active growth — investments in attracting investors, developing the platform, and building up the portfolio ran ahead of income. In essence, we financed rapid growth out of equity, and that is precisely why it temporarily went into the negative.
This was a deliberate strategic choice. A crowdlending platform faces a "chicken and egg" problem: to attract investors you need a flow of borrowers, and to issue loans you need investor funds. This mechanism can only be set in motion by building up a critical mass on both sides — the volume at which commission income begins to be enough to finance operating activity. Until that scale is reached, operating activity is financed out of own funds. That is why we deliberately chose a strategy of aggressive growth: to reach faster the scale at which the platform becomes self-sufficient — and the results of 2024 show that this point is already close.
What the 2024 loss consisted of. Operating activity, as shown in the previous section, came to almost zero (EBITDA CHF −7,188). The main weight of the bottom-line loss fell on items below the operating level: amortisation of the platform (CHF 25,260) and financial expenses (CHF 252,369), partly offset by financial income (CHF 164,484).
Capital is recovering. This negative figure is temporary, and we are returning capital to positive territory organically, as the platform moves into profit. Two facts support this. First, in 2024 the shareholders increased the platform's capital by CHF 55,000 — the owners believe in Maclear and support it on a par with investors. Second, according to preliminary 2025 data, the position improved across all areas, and we expect that by the end of 2025 equity will return to positive territory.
The most practical question is whether the platform will be able to settle with investors on time. The answer is built into the very design of the model: the timing of payments to investors is matched to the maturity of the loans, so the source of settlements with you is the flow of repayments on the portfolio. When individual repayments deviate from the schedule, the platform smooths these discrepancies out of its own funds — as described above — so that payments to investors go through on time. It is this design, rather than a one-off cash reserve, that ensures the timeliness of settlements.
At the end of 2024 the platform's cash amounted to CHF 439,654. Short-term accounts payable were CHF 385,157 — these are deferred settlements with suppliers and partners within ongoing activity, which grew in proportion to the platform's scale.
The platform's ability to meet its obligations to you on time is directly linked to the quality of the loan portfolio and to how systematically the platform manages credit risk. The next section is devoted precisely to this — borrower selection, diversification, and protection against losses.
The main question for any investor is what stands behind their investment and who is responsible if a borrower does not repay the loan. We answer directly: behind your investments stands the platform itself. Maclear takes on the credit risk of individual late payments by borrowers. This means that we are no less interested than you in the reliability of each loan, and we manage this risk systematically.
Every borrower undergoes a check. Before funds are placed, the borrower goes through a due diligence procedure: the platform assesses their financial position and their ability to service the loan. Funds are placed not blindly, but only after such an assessment.
Borrowers have assets as a source of repayment. When selecting, the platform takes into account whether borrowers hold assets that, in the event of non-performance of obligations, can serve as a source of repayment of the debt. This is an additional factor that reduces the risk of losses on a loan.
Risk is distributed across many borrowers. The platform follows the principle of diversification: funds are distributed across many borrowers, rather than concentrated in a few large loans. As the portfolio grows, diversification strengthens, reducing the impact of a possible default by an individual borrower on the portfolio as a whole.
The platform builds a reserve for possible losses. In addition to checking borrowers and diversification, Maclear maintains a reserve for possible loan losses (CHF 195,456 at the end of 2024) — a buffer serving as an additional layer of protection in the event of individual non-repayments.
The quality of the portfolio and the discipline of managing it are the very basis of the platform's ability to meet its obligations to you. This basis is reinforced by what was discussed above: operating activity reaching break-even, multifold growth, support from shareholders, and the expected return of capital to positive territory by the end of 2025. The platform does not merely take responsibility for your investments — it strengthens its ability to bear that responsibility.
If 2024 was the year in which we built scale, then 2025 became the year in which this scale began to bear fruit. Growth continued on both sides of the platform — both the circle of investors and the number of borrowers grew — and the portfolio of issued loans exceeded CHF 50 million. According to preliminary data, the key indicators improved across all areas.
Rapid growth is not only opportunity but also responsibility. We are aware that managing a platform growing at such a pace calls for particular care, and we are doing everything necessary for it: strengthening the financial and operational framework, building processes for the new scale, and developing consistently and prudently. It is on this trajectory that we expect equity to return to positive territory by the end of 2025.
To sum up. The Maclear platform is working, and obligations to investors are being met in full and on time. By the end of 2024, operating activity reached the break-even point, and in 2025 growth continues. Where there are weak spots, we see them and deliberately strengthen them — because the resilience of the platform and the safety of your investments are inseparable. The trust you have placed in Maclear is the foundation of everything we do, and we intend to live up to it every day. Thank you for being with us.
