Horecacrowdfunding - Risk and return review
Horecacrowdfunding - Returns and loss rates
Horecacrowdfunding – Platform statistics 2026
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investors
Horecacrowdfunding – Pros & Cons
About Horecacrowdfunding
What it is
Horeca Crowdfunding Nederland is a Dutch platform that lends investors' money only to hospitality businesses: restaurants, cafés, hotels and related firms, both start-ups and established ones. Since 31 January 2014 it has funded €93.96 million across 535 projects, of which 74.07% (€69.6 million) has been repaid; 195 projects with €23.85 million outstanding are still running (October 2026).
How it works
You register, verify your identity with the payment provider, take the EU investor knowledge test and choose projects from €250. Each project gets a credit score of 2 to 5 stars based on forecast free cash flow against the yearly repayments. Loans are annuities repaid monthly, on average over about 49 months. You can also set up automatic commitments to projects that match your criteria, which you then confirm by email. Many businesses add perks for investors, such as meals.
Returns
Loans pay an average interest rate of 7.3% a year, an unweighted average of the rates borrowers pay on all loans since 2014 (October 2026). After the investor fee and write-offs, the platform reports an average net return of 6.76% a year. That figure is a simple average, not an internal rate of return, and does not deduct the €2.59 million still in default.
Losses and defaults
Write-offs are low so far: €507,377 of principal has been written off for good, 0.54% of all money lent since 2014 (October 2026). A further €2.59 million, 2.76% of all money lent, is in default, meaning at least one instalment more than 90 days late, with enforcement running. Over the platform's life 37 of 535 projects (6.92%) have gone into default, with 8 in 2024, 6 in 2025 and 5 so far in 2026. Of the 195 running projects, 11 are behind on payments (€318,145 overdue), 7 of them by more than 90 days. The platform defines its default rate by number of projects but calculates the 2.76% by amount.
What secures your money
Most loans are secured by a pledge on the business's inventory and equipment, and the owner is jointly and severally liable for the debt; some loans also carry a second mortgage on the owner's home. The pledges are set down by a notary and held by a separate foundation, Stichting Zekerheden HCN, which enforces them for investors. Personal liability is not collateral, and used restaurant equipment usually fetches little in a forced sale. There is no buyback, reserve fund or guarantee. Loans are repaid monthly, so the amount at risk falls over the term. Since 2014 €507,377 has been written off for good, 0.54% of all money lent, while €2.59 million is in default with enforcement still running, so final losses are not yet known.
Who runs it and its licence
The platform is run by Horeca Crowdfunding Nederland B.V. (The Hague, chamber of commerce number 70083924). It holds a European crowdfunding licence from the Dutch financial markets regulator AFM, received in December 2022, and says it is supervised by the AFM and De Nederlandsche Bank; its site does not show the licence number. Payments for new projects run through Online Payment Platform, a licensed payment institution. Hospitality is a single, cyclical sector.
Fees
Since 1 January 2023 investors pay a fee of 0.035% a month on the amount they invested, about 0.42% a year, deducted from each monthly payment. Investments made before 2023 carried a one-off fee of 1%. If a borrower repays early, it pays investors an extra 2% of the original loan. What borrowers pay the platform is not published.
Getting your money out
There is no secondary market: your money comes back through the monthly repayments over the term of each loan, usually about four years. Borrowers may repay early if they are not behind, and then pay investors an extra 2%. Non-experienced investors have four days to cancel a commitment.
Our view
Return: Low — loans pay 7.3% a year on average, before fees and losses. Risk: Low (higher means more risk) — 0.54% of money lent has been written off and 2.76% is in default, with loans spread across 535 projects, though all in hospitality. Risk-return: Medium, based on the return after losses — after fees and write-offs investors earned 6.76% a year, a fair result for the losses so far.
Regulation
License / Regulation: Horeca Crowdfunding Nederland B.V. (The Hague, KvK 70083924) holds a European crowdfunding service provider licence under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), received in December 2022; the licence number is not shown on its site. The platform states it is supervised by the AFM and De Nederlandsche Bank. No deposit guarantee or investor compensation scheme covers the loans.
Functionality
For Investors
Useful Information
Yes. It holds a European crowdfunding licence from the Dutch regulator AFM, received in December 2022. The licence number is not shown on its site.
Payments for new projects run through Online Payment Platform, a licensed payment institution. Older investments are paid out through the platform's foundation. Security rights sit with Stichting Zekerheden HCN.
€250 per project.
Loans pay 7.3% a year on average, and after fees and write-offs investors earned 6.76% a year. €507,377 (0.54% of money lent) has been written off and €2.59 million (2.76%) is in default (October 2026).
Usually a pledge on the business's inventory and equipment and the owner's personal liability, sometimes a second mortgage on the owner's home. A foundation holds the security for investors. There is no buyback or guarantee.
No. There is no secondary market; money comes back monthly over the loan term. If a borrower repays early, you receive an extra 2% of the original loan.
0.035% a month on the amount you invested, about 0.42% a year, deducted from your monthly payments.
Security rights and payment flows sit in separate foundations and with the payment provider, and a continuity arrangement lets the platform's notary appoint new board members if needed. If a borrower fails, the foundation enforces the pledges and the owner's liability.
Yes. You can set criteria, and you are invited to projects that match them, which you confirm by email.
