Currently, MS Lending Group offers a range of bridging finance products, with no minimum loan size and willing to go as high as £3m. It is also willing to offer up to 75% on residential purchases and offers finance in numerous sectors, including residential capital raise, HMOs, semi-commercial, commercial, and land.

Michael himself comes from a background in specialist lending, with 10 years at Manchester-based lender Together, where he held various roles in processing and commercial underwriting, before having a business mandate.

The USP

On what sets MS Lending apart from its competitors, Michael said that, when the business was set up, the sector was extremely busy, diluted and wasn’t short for options. “I knew that we needed to go into the market with different offerings to what customers and brokers already had,” he explained. 

“We know we aren’t as cheap as some lenders, but that is because we offer things they simply cannot,” Michael added. For example, the finance provider’s ability to complete within less than 48 hours and its no-valuation product has meant the business hasn’t had to get involved with the race to the bottom on rates. “Rate is only a small part of the overall transaction for our customers.”

The company was founded in the midst of the Covid pandemic, yet this dark cloud also had a silver lining for the firm’s prospects. Michael highlighted that the finance provider was entering the market with no bad debt or back book, meaning it could take a proactive approach to new lending while others took a step back.

“In life, there will always be excuses as to why now isn't the right time to do something. Although everyone thinks it was probably a crazy time to go into it, I thought it was a really good time. Testament to this, we've managed to gain great traction throughout the first year and got our foot in the door with a lot of brokers”, Michael added.

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With new funding, MS Lending plans to lend a further circa £50m by the end of 2022

New backing

The MS Lending strategy has definitely borne fruit, with the firm lending over £25m in its first year. It also looks primed to enter its next stage, having recently secured two new funding lines: a large London-based alternative investment management company offering £50m with the capacity to expand this to £100m, and a UK venture capital firm providing £10m, with the option to go up to £50m. 

Commenting on the process for finding prospective funders, Michael stated: “We've worked long and hard with a couple of funding lines to make sure that they really understand our business. They understand our criteria and that we're not going to change that.” 

With the new capital injection, MS Lending now plans to lend a further circa £50m by the end of 2022, totalling £75m by the close of this year. The firm aims to lend another £75m in 2023.

“Our current funding model acts as a steppingstone to get us from A to B. However, as a business, to now have the opportunity to concentrate on the origination rather than having to think about where the money is effectively coming from, allows us to really go full steam ahead. We know that the lines are there; they're committed and secured. It'll mean that our trajectory and growth plans will be well on target.”

Next steps

Speaking of progress, a product line that the lender has identified as having potential is ethical or Sharia-compliant lending. This product offers zero interest, sharing profits and further provisions to make it more palatable to the Muslim community. Michael notes that, having spoken to solicitors and experts in the field, there are not many lenders in the UK currently undertaking Sharia-compliant finance, and this is a field he is enthusiastic for MS Lending to enter.

While the value of the housing market is continuing to increase in the UK, Michael believes that this meteoric rise will level off towards the end of the year. “There's more demand for residences than ever; I don't think we're going to see any crazy crashes, because people know property is needed. I think there's going to be a rise in social housing and registered providers because the demand and homelessness crisis in the UK is bigger than it's been for a long time”, he claimed.

In January, the bridging lender launched an ESG product in response to this, focused on such areas as the ‘S’ of ESG in social housing which, according to Stratton, has had a “fantastic” uptake. So far, the business has lent £4m through this offering.

On how MS Lending aims to keep itself ahead of the pack, Michael said: “We are very keen to make sure that we are what we do, not what we say we'll do. I know it sounds cliche, but I think every lender, especially in the bridging space, can tell you that they are flexible and can do things that others can't. The difference is I know that we do what we say we'll do; it’s ingrained.”