Ultimate Finance achieved its highest ever six-month period for new business origination, with £109m of new facilities provided in the first six months of 2024, up 44% on the same period last year.
In addition, the specialist asset-based lender’s total loan book was 14% higher than its year-end close in December 2023, growing to £340m.
The lender also reached a £100m loan book milestone for both asset finance and bridging finance in H1.
Josh Levy (pictured), CEO of Ultimate Finance, said, “I am delighted to report another strong half year performance with some significant loan book, origination and customer service milestones met as we continue our consistent and continuous progression.
“Our success remains the output of incremental improvement that focuses on our key service proposition to our clients and introducer partners, with this momentum building further in the first six months of 2024.
“It is the combination of progress in multiple areas that together adds up to material advancement, with numbers just one part of the story as we reflected on in our recent Responsible Business Report publication covering our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments and priorities.”
He added: “The milestones we have reached are meaningful as we look to build a diversified asset-based lending business with each of our product lines providing both quality and scale.
“We are proud to work in partnership with our introducers and brokers to support the ambitions of SMEs and property investors across the UK and have welcomed dozens of new members to our team in the last 12 months to enable continued growth.
“Our clients – and therefore our loan book – continue to perform well despite tough trading conditions in many sectors.
“With political certainty and stability now set post-election, and inflation levels much reduced, we hope to see the first interest rate cuts delivered in the coming months to act as a further catalyst for business confidence and investment.
Levy continued: “We expect to see an uptick in transactions of various types, including MBOs, property purchases and energy efficiency driven upgrades to equipment and vehicles.
“Specialist lenders will continue to provide businesses with strategic funding options to fill the mainstream funding gaps that have long existed, and we are confident that our singular product solutions and full asset-based lending Structured Finance will prove to be valuable in the months ahead.
“Funding certainty is at the heart of the specialist lending model and drives the ability to deliver reliably, consistently and quickly.
“We have always benefited from a deep capital base being part of the Tavistock Group and will have some exciting news to share soon to further increase our already substantial funding capacity.
“Coupled with the technology-enabled personal service we provide our clients and introducers to create long lasting, meaningful relationships, we are well placed to continue this success in the second half of this year.”
