LHV Bank passes £1bn in UK SME and property lending

Recent transactions completed during 2026 include around £22m of specialist buy-to-let facilities supporting the acquisition of 253 residential properties and a £7.01m refinancing facility for an Oxfordshire hotel, golf and spa resort.

Conor McDermott, director of SME lending at LHV Bank, commented: “Reaching £1 billion of lending tells us that we have moved beyond simply establishing ourselves in the market. Brokers and borrowers are now coming back to us with larger, more complex opportunities because they know how we approach a deal and, importantly, they know they can have a conversation with the people making the lending decisions.

“The commercial market has not been straightforward over the past few years. Borrowers have had to contend with higher funding costs, changing valuations and greater scrutiny of cash flow, so growth cannot just come from saying yes to more deals. It comes from understanding what sits behind the property, how the business performs and what the borrower is trying to achieve.

“That is the approach we want to retain as we grow. £1bn is a significant marker for a lending business that only began originating loans at the start of 2023, but we’re not interested in growth for growth’s sake. We want to keep doing good deals, support more brokers and borrowers, and make sure we maintain the service that has got us to this point.”