Castle Trust Bank has just closed its financial year with record-breaking growth in both bridging and buy-to-let lending. We caught up with commercial director Anna Lewis to hear how the lender is cementing its position as a serious force in the market – and what comes next.
Anna, congratulations on a record year. How would you sum up Castle Trust Bank’s performance over the last 12 months?
It’s been our best year yet – not just in bridging, but across our lending portfolio. Completions have more than doubled, we’ve achieved a phenomenal uplift in bridging volumes. In fact, for every two buy-to-let loans we’ve completed, we’ve written three bridging loans. That tells you something about the scale and momentum of our bridging proposition – and how integral it’s become to our overall lending strategy.
What’s driving that growth in bridging – and how is it feeding into the rest of the business?
The growth is being fuelled by a few things. First, we’ve built a bridging proposition that genuinely delivers on speed, certainty and flexibility – the things brokers value most. We’ve also structured ourselves to support larger, more complex transactions, with a strong focus on criteria and underwriting that helps get bigger deals over the line. That’s helped us build deeper relationships with key broker accounts – six of whom have now completed more than £25 million with us in a single year.
And as for how it feeds into the rest of the business – bridging is now a key pipeline for our buy-to-let and term lending. Many of our bridging customers are refinancing onto term deals with us. So, it’s not just volume growth, it’s sustainable growth.
You mention the ability to support larger deals. How have you achieved that in practical terms?
We’ve invested heavily in our people and infrastructure. That includes growing our underwriting and completions teams, launching a dedicated bridging underwriting function, and investing into innovations like the upgraded PULSE broker portal. We also offer drawdown functionality on both light and heavy refurbishment bridging, and use tools like title insurance and dual legal representation to compress timelines.
But importantly, we’re a bank – which means we lend our own money. That gives us greater control and certainty over funding, and if we need to raise liquidity quickly to support a growing lending appetite, we can do it. That’s a powerful proposition in today’s market.
What sets Castle Trust Bank apart in what’s become a very competitive space?
I’d say three things: our structure, our service, and our speed. Our bridging proposition is set up as a standalone specialism within the bank, with dedicated teams across underwriting, completions, and case management. That enables us to deliver the kind of responsiveness and consistency that brokers need.
We’ve also kept improving – whether it’s our 48-hour refinance completions service, the addition of light refurb with drawdowns, or enhancing the broker journey through our website and portal.
And of course, there’s our track record. We’ve had completions in as little as nine hours when the conditions are right. When brokers need certainty, we’re a partner they can rely on.
How important have brokers been to this success story?
Brokers are absolutely central to everything we do. We view them as partners, not just introducers. Much of our growth has come from listening closely to broker feedback and acting on it. The fact that multiple broker accounts have passed the £25m milestone in a single year speaks volumes about the strength and trust in those relationships.
Castle Trust Bank also seems to be active outside of pure lending – tell us more about your events and community engagement.
That’s right – 2025 was a fantastic year for building our community. Our annual Charity Golf Day raised £8,500 for Just4Children, bringing our total raised to £25,000 through that event. We also hosted our first, and very successful race day event which gave brokers and partners a chance to connect in a more relaxed setting. These events are a real highlight for us, and we’re looking forward to doing even more in 2026.
Looking ahead, what’s next for Castle Trust Bank and its bridging business?
We’re not slowing down. We’ll continue refining our proposition, investing in people and tech, and working closely with brokers to deliver what they need. We see bridging as a core part of our future – not just a product set, but a platform for sustainable growth across the business.
The last year has proven that we’re not just another lender dipping into bridging – we’re a serious player with the scale, systems, and strategy to support brokers for the long term.
