Cambridge & Counties Bank has agreed to provide up to £150 million of funding to Manchester-based Assetz Capital, a major provider of specialist SME property development finance in the UK.
The funding line, the first such largescale partnership for Cambridge & Counties Bank, will allow Assetz Capital to increase deployment of its residential development loans at a key time for the UK housing sector and growing demands for more housing.
Since its launch in 2013, Assetz Capital has deployed more than £1.7 billion in property-secured lending, funding the building of 7,700 new homes, around one in every 12 homes built by SME housebuilders over each of several recent years.
The addition of Cambridge & Counties Bank to Assetz Capital’s institutional funding marketplace broadens the capital available to SME developers and strengthens the platform’s capacity to support housing projects.
It also increases the resilience of Assetz Capital’s platform at a time when SME housebuilding finance remains under pressure. According to the Home Builders Federation[1], access to finance is an increasing challenge, with the proportion of developers citing finance as a major barrier up from 33% to 39% in the past year.
About Assetz Capital
Founded in 2013, Assetz Capital is one of the UK’s leading business lenders, specialising in property-secured finance for SME developers, housebuilders, and businesses. By leveraging deep market expertise and institutional funding lines, Assetz Capital provides tailored solutions across ground-up development finance, commercial mortgages, bridging, and refurbishment.
Having funded the construction of around 1 in every 12 new homes built by SME housebuilders over several recent years, Assetz Capital is dedicated to supporting sustainable growth and housing delivery across the UK, supporting the Government’s ambition of delivering 1.5m new homes over this parliament.
Sarah Barker, Chief Commercial Officer at Cambridge & Counties Bank
“We are delighted to be working with Assetz Capital, a proven specialist in SME residential development lending with a deep understanding of regional markets. This facility is a first for Cambridge & Counties as we look to expand our support for the UK property market, working with others to who share our relationship-based approach. Assetz Capital’s disciplined underwriting and track record of delivery make them an ideal partner to help us scale our impact in this critical sector.”
Stuart Law, CEO of Assetz Capital, added:
“This partnership with Cambridge & Counties Bank is another major endorsement of the quality, scale, and stability of the platform that we’ve built over the past decade and more. Borrowers will now benefit from an even deeper and diverse institutionally funded marketplace with a full product suite for all property backed transactions. Our funding doesn’t just take property entrepreneurs through the lifecycle of a project. We also support them from their early days right through to scaling into joining the ranks of the nation’s SME housebuilders and delivering dozens to hundreds of new homes a year.”