DLA: Triin, Estateguru has gone through a challenging phase in its recent history, which was accompanied by consolidation in European submarkets. What can you tell us about this phase?
Triin Pappel: Over the past two years, we have deliberately shifted from an “aggressive growth” start-up mindset to a disciplined, profit-first model. 2023 marked the turning-point, and the sequence looked like this:
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In the end of 2022 we decided to pause non-core markets. We halted new origination in Germany and several smaller satellite markets owing to unfavourable market conditions and the wider economic climate.
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We redirected resources to our strongest geographies, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where our track record is longest and risk control most granular. Even while tightening our footprint, cumulative lending passed €850 million in autumn 2024 and we are on track to clear €900 million during 2025.
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The strategy paid off: we reached profit in 2024, originated €80.7 million of new, lower-LTV loans, and delivered an average 10 %+ yield, paying €12.6 million in interest to investors.
In short, the “challenging phase” was a conscious pivot. We exited markets that no longer met our risk-return bar, doubled down on the Baltics, and updated our credit policies to safeguards portfolio quality. The result is a leaner, profitable Estateguru, positioned to resume measured growth.
DLA: How far have you come in recovering outstanding loan receivables from this period? Can you provide any figures?
Triin Pappel: Resolving problematic loans is a core priority and part of our day-to-day work processes. In 2024 we invested €1.1 million (on top of 1 million invested in 2023) of own capital specifically in recovery actions, enabling our dedicated team, supported by external legal and real-estate specialists, to bring back €14.85 million in principal, our best year to date. Cumulatively we have now recovered nearly €55 million across all markets, and we expect 2025 to set a new record as pending cases close. For example, we currently have €78.8 million in recoveries in Germany.
DLA: In Germany, allegations of fraud against employees have come to light. What is the current status?
Triin Pappel: We cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, but we have done everything in our power to protect our investors’ interests and will continue to do so.
DLA: Where does Estateguru stand today? What is the situation specifically in terms of liquidity, profitability, capital resources, and the number of employees?
Triin Pappel: Estateguru stands in the position of having a strong foothold in the Baltics, with new products being created and launched soon, profit in 2024 and a strong core team of 30+ professionals in place. We have had to restructure the team to set the focus on stability instead of product growth, but we are optimistic about the growing confidence of the investor base and the local market.
Our loan portfolio has a very good track record from recent years. In 2023 and 2024, we originated a total of €180.1 million in loans. As of June 11, €127.2 million (71%) has already been repaid to investors, while €45.8 million remains on schedule. Only €7.2 million (4%) of the loans issued during these two years are currently classified as problematic, and a concrete action plan is in place to resolve them.
Additionally, as of June 11, we have issued €28.2 million in loans in 2025, all of which are currently progressing well.
Our immediate focus is the Baltics, with each country at a different stage of real-estate development activity:
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Lithuania and Latvia are already experiencing strong growth.
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Estonia is gaining momentum as construction confidence returns and demand increases.
We have strengthened our teams in Lithuania and Latvia and reorganised our operations in Estonia to support both growth and profitability.
DLA: What is the strategy for the next two years on the financing side?
Triin Pappel: The strategy is to concentrate on high-quality loans in the Baltics. We will keep prioritising the retail market and serving retail clients, while in parallel we are having multiple ongoing discussions with institutional investors. While during past years retail investors have been the predominant funding power of the marketplace, we are happy to see again more interest arising from the institutional side. For the next few years, we are not aiming to do any significant changes in funding strategy, with one exception of a new EG Grow product that is being launched shortly.
DLA: On the sourcing side, institutional investors had become increasingly important over the years. This trend has now reversed dramatically. What is the reason for this?
Triin Pappel: We have established partnerships with several institutional investors, some of them investing to this day and some of them having changed their strategic focus. Institutional investors’ interest towards Estateguru was extremely high during our European expansion, and at that time we also focused more on Western European investment partners. At this stage, we have taken the strategic focus on Baltic partners.
DLA: With EG Grow you are currently launching a new product that complies with the requirements of Article 6 of the ECSPR on the individual management of credit portfolios. Congratulations! It takes a lot of courage and perseverance to tackle this complex piece of legislation. What exactly is EG Grow and who is your target customer?
Triin Pappel: Over the past year we asked investors what they still miss on our marketplace. The loudest request was for predictable income without the hassle of picking loans one-by-one. EG Grow is our answer: an Article 6-compliant individual portfolio management of loans that turns a basket of first-rank mortgage Baltic property loans into a simple, monthly cash-flow product.
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Fixed interest rate;
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Fixed interest payments on set monthly dates;
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A contingency fund to cover interest in case any borrower is late;
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Investors continue to earn interest regardless of the loan’s payment behaviour (including during potential enforcement). In rare cases where a loan becomes non-performing, the contingency fund may continue covering interest payments until the loan is either recovered or written off;
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No need to manually select projects;
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Every loan is secured by real estate that can be realised if needed.
EG Grow is aimed at both retail and higher-ticket investors: individuals can start with as little as €100 to gain property-backed exposure, while high-net-worth investors and family offices may appreciate the fixed monthly coupon and automatic diversification that deliver regular cash flow without the need to select loans manually.
DLA: Is the fixed interest rate of 7% per annum that you promise fixed forever or can it change at some point?
Triin Pappel: At the moment, the rate is fixed at 7 % per annum. We do not currently plan any changes, but adjustments are possible if the user terms are updated. Should that happen, we will notify investors publicly.
DLA: What properties are eligible for EG Grow? Our assumption would be that it can only be properties that yield at least 7%, otherwise you would have a gap.
Triin Pappel: We rarely ever facilitated loans with a lower return than 7%.
EG Grow – property (loan) eligibility in a nutshell:
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Collateral quality: only loans backed by a first-rank mortgage;
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Location: launch phase is limited to the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), where we have the deepest recovery track-record.
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Risk limits: Maximum LTV 69 %. Term 6–18 months, bullet with interest payments or annuity schedule only.
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Use-case: short-term loans backed by a clear business plan and solid financials;
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Due-diligence gates: third-party valuation, full KYC/AML on the borrower and credit-committee sign-off identical to the public marketplace process.
DLA: You have also set up a contingency fund. This is also based on the ECSPR guidelines. How does the fund work and what cases does it cover?
Triin Pappel: One of EG Grow’s value propositions is the predictability – this means that interest payments are made at a specific date of the month and interest payments continue until the loan gets either repaid or written off. This means that any missing interest payments will be covered from the contingency fund to provide the predictability.
DLA: How is the contingency fund protected against the insolvency of Estateguru?
Triin Pappel: In case of Estateguru’s insolvency, all investments would be “lifted” to a standard contract, meaning that the product would be terminated and investors would get claims directly in their portfolio as they would have made a manual investment.
DLA: Thanks a lot for the interview, Triin.
Photo Credits:
- Triin Pappel: Rain Pikand
- Office: Rain Pikand