Following the acquisition — which was approved by the PRA and the FCA — ASK will continue to operate as an independent entity and maintain its office in London.

In addition, OakNorth’s head of debt finance Ben Barbanel (pictured above) will join ASK’s board.

The deal builds on OakNorth and ASK’s existing relationship — in the last five years, the two firms have provided structured debt to SME housebuilders and property entrepreneurs across 45 joint transactions. 

The renewed partnership will allow the two companies to continue providing funding solutions to customers using senior banking funding, as well as other sources of risk capital. 

The latest transaction represents OakNorth’s second significant acquisition in the last 12 months, after it purchased cashflow forecasting business Fluidly in December 2021.

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Ben remarked: “ASK is a business OakNorth has worked with for several years, enabling us to provide the funding solutions our clients need.

“This purchase comes at a vital time for the British economy, as it will enable us to deepen our support for SME housebuilders and property entrepreneurs across the UK and through the economic cycle.”

Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder of ASK, added: “Through our dealings with OakNorth over the last five years, we have got to know its business and team extremely well and consider this a natural, evolutionary step.  

“We share very similar values and aspirations, and both companies are excited about the future and how we can assist one another to achieve each other’s goals against a challenging economic backdrop. 

“We strongly believe that the backing of a regulated bank will help ASK to fulfil its long-term potential and create a greater range of finance options and investment opportunities for our clients.”