Business bank Allica Bank has bought bridging lender Tuscan Capital, allowing the bank to enter the bridging finance sector.
The Tuscan Capital team will “eventually integrate fully” into the Allica Bank team and be able to access Allica Bank’s funding base and distribution team.
Allica Bank in turn will be able to leverage Tuscan’s existing bridging expertise and broker network.
Allica Bank has been growing its commercial finance offering, and the acquisition will allow it to grow its offering to bridging and refurbishment finance with a focus on semi-commercial and full-commercial bridging alongside Tuscan’s residential bridging.
Allica Bank says it is looking to be a “leading player in the bridging finance market”, mimicking its success in commercial mortgages and asset finance. Since it entered the market in 2020, the firm has lent over £2bn.
The bank has also hired Justin Trowse as head of bridging to spearhead its distribution strategy. He was most recently at LendInvest as a director of structured property finance, and prior to that, he was the bridging finance head.
Tuscan Capital was founded in 2018 by Colin Sanders, who was most recently CEO of Omni Capital and Fortwell Capital.
Nick Baker, Allica Bank’s chief commercial officer, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Tuscan Capital into the Allica family. Tuscan’s commitment to service, and in particular their focus on speed and transparency for their broker partners and customers, meant the synergies with Allica’s values were clear.
“Commercial bridging is an important but under-served part of the lending market. That’s why we believe bringing together Tuscan’s expertise and existing relationships with Allica’s resources and network is a winning combination for the market.
“We look forward to sharing more about how we’ll be developing our bridging proposition in the coming weeks.”
Sanders added: “Ed and I set up Tuscan with a vision to transform what we saw as a broken bridging market, with a specific focus on bringing back speed and decisiveness to the decision-making process. Allica’s no-nonsense approach to banking shows they share this vision with us.
“This is a really positive development for the Tuscan team, our intermediary partners, and the wider SME community, and we look forward to the proposition enhancements that will undoubtedly follow today’s news.
“By becoming part of this award-winning bank, we will be able to accelerate the fantastic work our team has already done, and make an even greater difference to the market.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
