In August, Zopa managed to pass the £1bn lending mark – after operating for more than 10 years in the UK. Now the peer-to-peer lender is expecting to do the next billion by the end of 2016.

Clearly this is testament to a successful sector that is revolutionising the way British consumers and businesses are funded.

However this success has to be seen in the right context: P2P accounts for less than 1 per cent of the alternative business funding market.

Also, concerns have been raised about whether this is a suitable investment for certain individuals.

Despite the imminent launch of an innovative finance Isa next year, the FCA still classifies peer-to-peer as a non-standard investment. This regulatory classification makes it tough for advisers to recommend peer to peer.

Several self invested personal pension providers allow P2P investment but some providers, such as Landbay, say they are not 100 per cent convinced that Sipps for P2P lending are compliant and have therefore opted to “wait and watch”.

Supporting material produced by Neil Faulkner, co-founder of peer to peer lending risk-ratings agency 4thWay, Katrin Herrling, co-founder of Funding XChange, John Goodall, chief executive and co-founder of Landbay, Ceri Williams, senior commercial manager at Ratesetter; Martin Tilley, director of technical services at Dentons Pension Management and Andy Leggett, head of Sipp business development at Barnett Waddingham.