Ex-West One boss launches lender

Ex-West One Loans boss Mark Abrahams has teamed up with Mint Bridging to launch a specialist lender offering first and second charge mortgages, development finance and commercial.

The lender, MB Syndicates, will focus on higher value, lower loan-to-value first charge loans between £350,000 and £5m and low risk development loans alongside seconds and commercial.

Loans will be funded by experienced investors in the short-term property lending market, on a syndicated basis.

Abrahams said: “What struck me is how fast Mint has grown and Andrew’s passion, determination and dedication.

“The company’s track record is astounding, and this is an ideal time to take Mint to the next stage as an industry power house.”

Abrahams added: “They have strong routes to market and together we have a solid platform of experienced funders wanting to invest in bridging finance with an experienced team.

“This partnership makes absolute sense. Andrew has created a strong infrastructure, impressive deal flow and has built a great team; these values greatly attracted me to the company.”

Andrew Lazare, managing director at Mint Bridging, said: “For five years of building the business, we’re now seeing over 820% growth compared to prior year same quarters.

“Partnering with Mark now firmly places Mint Bridging on the map and the syndication division enables us to increase funding lines, loan sizes and expand on our already rapidly growing Greater London presence.”

The intention is to grow the loan book to over £100m with the emphasis on geographical diversification and areas of high liquidity.

The syndication partnership has been piloted since January 2016 and has already funded several million pounds of loans to date.

Abrahams was previously a co-founder and chief executive of West One Loans Bridging Finance which was acquired by Enterprise Finance in 2014 for an undisclosed amount.