Over the last seven years, Blackfinch Property has grown into a specialist lender with more than £500m in total lending. Meg Bratley, Social Media and Content Manager at Mortgage and Property Investment Magazine, spoke with David Higson, Head of Property at Blackfinch, to explore what has driven that growth and where he believes the biggest opportunities lie across the specialist property lending market over the coming years.
The milestone comes alongside another notable achievement for the business: completing the largest loan in its history, a £20.4m facility secured against a mixed residential and commercial portfolio across London.
Together, these achievements reflect Blackfinch Property’s growing ability to support larger, more complex funding requirements while maintaining its relationship-led approach to lending.
Blackfinch Property’s specialist lending journey
Meg Bratley: Can you talk us through how Blackfinch came to be in property lending, and what inspired the launch of Blackfinch Property?
David Higson: Blackfinch launched its Inheritance Tax (IHT) service in 2014, and it has grown organically since then. Today, Blackfinch manages over £1bn in assets.
Property lending, alongside renewable energy investment, has always been a key part of the investment mandate, with both representing Business Relief (BR)-qualifying activities.
From that position, we saw a widening funding gap in the market. Traditional banks had retreated from areas such as development and bridging finance, partly due to regulatory changes. This left agile small and medium-sized developers without a reliable source of capital.
That opportunity led to the formal creation of the property lending team, which became marketed as Blackfinch Property in 2019.
Scaling Blackfinch Property beyond £500m in lending
Meg Bratley: Blackfinch Property has now surpassed £500m in total lending, which is a significant milestone. Looking back on that journey, what have been the main drivers of growth, and how have you managed to scale while keeping that relationship-led approach?
David: I joined Blackfinch in April 2017 and have seen the business scale significantly since then. At that point, the loan book was around £30m and managed by a small team of three or four people.
Today, the loan book stands at over £250m, with around 20 staff working directly on property lending transactions. Total lending has now reached £562m.
In the earlier days, processes were less formalised. Deals were often completed over email or phone, management information was limited, and deal flow came from a smaller number of broker relationships.
To scale, we focused heavily on strengthening deal flow. This included joining industry bodies such as the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) and the Bridging & Commercial Lender Index, as well as increasing our attendance at expos and broker events.
Alongside this, we built a more structured business development approach and focused on expanding our broker and borrower relationships.
We prioritised consistency and certainty for clients. That included keeping interest rates fixed where appropriate, giving borrowers clarity in uncertain markets. This helped drive repeat business, with some borrowers still active on the book today from 2017.
We also broadened our lending criteria. Maximum loan sizes increased from £5m to £20m, while we expanded into sectors such as care homes, warehouses, offices and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), alongside buy-to-let portfolio lending and commercial term loans.
Hiring has been a key driver of scale. As volumes increased, we needed a larger team to manage underwriting and due diligence. Many early hires remain with the business today, helping embed processes and maintain consistency.
To support this, we introduced a formal team policy framework and developed in-house loan management software to track deals and improve decision-making. This helps us standardise processes while maintaining flexibility and service quality.
Our team structure is deliberately integrated. Rather than separating business development, underwriting and recoveries, team members cover the full lifecycle of a transaction. This provides continuity and means clients deal with people who understand the full context of the loan.
What brokers and borrowers should look for in a lending partner
Meg Bratley: In today’s market, borrowers have more choice than ever when it comes to specialist lenders. From your perspective, what should brokers and borrowers look for in a good lending partner, beyond the headline rate?
David: With more specialist lenders in the market, differentiation is key. Pricing is important, but there are several other critical factors.
Certainty of funds is essential. Borrowers and brokers need to understand how a lender is funded and how its internal approval process works.
Some lenders rely on external funding lines or investor approvals, which can create uncertainty at later stages. Even where funding is available, internal credit committee approval can sometimes result in delays or changes in terms. That makes early pre-screening of complex aspects especially important.
Flexibility is another key consideration. Property projects frequently encounter challenges, particularly around planning or development. Lenders need the ability to adapt structures where appropriate, while still managing risk responsibly.
Speed of execution is also critical. Delays can reduce profitability or cause borrowers to miss opportunities, particularly where bridging or development finance is involved.
Finally, availability matters. Experienced teams that understand both the deal and the client can help transactions progress efficiently. At Blackfinch, we ensure multiple team members are involved in each deal to maintain continuity.
Balancing due diligence with speed in property lending
Meg Bratley: One of the ongoing challenges in specialist lending is getting the balance right between thorough due diligence and moving quickly. How do you approach that internally at Blackfinch Property, and why is that balance so important for both sides?
David: Lenders must always follow robust processes to fully understand risk on behalf of investors. But overly lengthy processes can create delays and additional costs for borrowers.
We address this by assessing loan complexity and time constraints upfront. That allows us to tailor our approach from the outset and manage expectations on both sides.
For example, in portfolio transactions, due diligence can sometimes be streamlined because risk is spread across multiple assets. However, for single-asset or complex transactions, more detailed analysis is required.
This approach allows us to be efficient where possible while maintaining strong risk controls. Issues can arise during due diligence, and our team is empowered to apply judgement while escalating where needed.
Where appropriate, we aim to resolve issues through structural adjustments or additional protections such as covenants. The objective is always to progress viable transactions where the risk is acceptable.
What Blackfinch property’s largest-ever loan reveals about current market demand
Meg Bratley: Blackfinch recently completed its largest-ever loan. What does that transaction tell you about the types of borrowers and projects you’re seeing in the current market?
David: That transaction involved a repeat borrower and an income-backed mixed-use portfolio in London. It highlights the growing demand for simplicity in lending structures, particularly where borrowers prefer a single facility covering both residential and commercial assets.
We are seeing increasing demand for income-backed lending, including buy-to-let portfolios and commercial mortgages. In the current environment, borrowers particularly value flexible facilities with fixed rates and minimal early repayment restrictions.
The macroeconomic backdrop remains uncertain. When combined with planning delays and increased build costs, this is contributing to fewer viable new development opportunities.
Where the specialist lending market is heading next
Meg Bratley: Having hit the £500m lending milestone and completed increasingly large transactions, where do you see the biggest opportunities in the specialist property lending market over the next 12 to 24 months, and how is Blackfinch Property positioning itself?
David: One key opportunity is the growing demand for flexible commercial mortgages. We are also seeing a significant imbalance in the care home sector, where development activity is increasing but funding remains constrained.
Many lenders focus on either residential lending or specific geographic segments, which can limit options in more specialist areas. There is also often a gap between development finance and term lending for operational care homes.
We see an opportunity for lenders that can bridge that gap, including through structures that support a trading phase.
In the residential sector, structural undersupply remains a key theme. Despite higher borrowing costs and other macroeconomic pressures, constrained supply driven by planning delays and build costs should continue to support underlying demand for well-located developments.
Ultimately, ensuring the right housing is delivered in the right locations remains critical for successful outcomes.
David Higson bio
David Higson joined Blackfinch in 2017 and manages Blackfinch Property’s lending team. Previously, he worked in PwC’s retail, consumer and leisure deal advisory team in London, conducting financial due diligence across a range of sectors and jurisdictions.
He is an ICAEW-qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a degree in Economics from the University of York. David joined Blackfinch in 2017 and manages Blackfinch Property’s lending team.
Previously, he worked in PwC’s retail, consumer and leisure deal advisory team in London, conducting financial due diligence across a range of sectors and jurisdictions. He is an ICAEW-qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a degree in Economics from the University of York.
