The Intermediary – March 2025 - Flipbook - Page 29
I N P RO F I L E
“Being a tech-enabled business means all the tech
we have enables us to collaborate and be nimble.”
This fits with Mann’s own corporate banking
background, which he says lays the foundation for
getting to know a business directly, learning about
the people, and “looking at each deal based on its
own merits.”
“Brokers have filled that void for a long time
now,” he adds. “They get under the bonnet of these
customers and businesses, and then collaborate
with banks like ourselves to give them the
support they’ve been missing.”
Core to this is the understanding that
“no two deals are the same,” and that
when something lands outside Allica’s
core appetite, with the right borrower
and deal, it can “be commercial.”
Expanding product range
Allica has expanded into new product
areas over the years, including a move
into the world of bridging lending with the
acquisition of Tuscan Capital in August 2024.
Mann says: “The main aim is to provide the full
suite of products and services that (SMEs) require
throughout their journeys. We want to be able to
support them in as many ways as we can.
“This was a natural fit for Allica. With our
commercial proposition, for example, we were
seeing a number of deals where a property needed
refurbishment or updating, and we couldn’t
necessarily support the transaction because it was
a bridge required.”
“Having done bridging myself in a past life, it’s a
different market and a different type of expertise,”
Mann adds. “What Allica is very good at is, using
expetise and honing it to our advantage. Building
out a new bridging firm would be possible, but
this was a natural fit. They’ve got the track record;
we’ve got the reach.”
While the two firms have combined, with Tuscan
rebranding to Allica in January 2025, there are
still some clear distinctions, Mann explains: “You
can’t underwrite and process a bridge the same
way you do a term loan. Bridging has to be quick
and simple, completing in a third of the time, with
different checks and due diligence.”
This means having a distinct back office,
underwriters and sales function. Nevertheless,
Mann says Allica is always looking for more ways
to combine and complement its services, with
“more to come in this space.”
Building out buy-to-let
In February, Allica further expanded, launching
into specialist buy-to-let (BTL). This, Mann says,
was a matter of demand from brokers who
“wanted to see Allica competing in this space.”
MICHAEL
MANN
As for the proposition itself, Allica is “not here
to compete with vanilla BTL and the mainstream,”
but instead, to solve more complex problems. This
might include large houses in multiple occupation
(HMOs), multi-unit blocks (MUBs), portfolio
refinances, and more – all of which is “in keeping
with what we’re about as a commercial lender,
as large portfolio landlords are also SMEs, and
important to the UK economy.”
Mann says: “The specialist BTL market has
always been important. There are a lot of
landlords out there who have got very
large portfolios and are able to provide
much-needed housing. As regulations
and tax implications change, we start
to see a change around demand and
competition. But this is a market
that has been around a long time, it’s
fundamental to our economy, and it’s a
buoyant market we can support.”
While much maligned, the BTL market is
much like the rest of the country and economy,
Mann says: “We adapt, we overcome, we change
course and get back onto the track. There will
be some casualties, as there always are, but the
BTL market will always be there.”
Buy-to-let, bridging and Allica’s original lending
proposition all form part of a wider tapestry
that aims to provide all the support needed for
businesses and landlords. For example, with the
impending issue of Energy Performance Certificate
(EPC) requirements likely to affect many clients,
Mann points to bridging as a key tool to be used
in updating properties and meeting evolving
regulatory rules.
On the journey
Relationships, speedy decision-making enabled by
tech, and an evolving product set – all increasingly
important factors in the modern specialist market.
Beneath all of this, Mann says, is the fact that
brokers are more important to established SMEs
than ever before, particularly when it comes to
introducing the specialist options available.
“Interest rates are starting to come down, we’re
starting to see the gilt market start to stabilise
a bit more, which impacts fixed rates and makes
things a bit more affordable,” he explains. “There
has therefore been a bit of a step change, and the
time now is for brokers to cement themselves as
an integral part of the SME journey.”
For Allica Bank itself, Mann concludes: “We will
continue to focus on this growth and enhancing
our proposition, tweaking those dials where we
see there is going to be the best impact.
“For brokers, our focus hasn’t changed –
it’s about empowering them to help more of
their clients.” ●
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