Real estate funding specialist ASK Partners (ASK) has reached the £1bn mark for completed loan transactions.
A recent £40.5m co-loan with OakNorth Bank secured against Richmond’s former House of Fraser store has pushed the company’s lending total over the £1bn milestone.
Some 75% of this lending total has been achieved since March 2020, with the company’s headcount also doubling to match the growth.
The £1bn has been spread across 95 UK transactions in a broad variety of sectors, both residential and commercial, and has been achieved with no defaults and 41 redemptions totalling £385m. Counter-cyclical sectors such as student schemes have been part of their underwriting strategy.
ASK was set up in late 2016 to provide alternative finance options to professional property investors and developers no longer served by traditional bank lenders, and wrote its first loan in March 2017.
The alternative finance sector has become more and more competitive, but the company’s flexible and relationship-led approach has earned it a reputation as a trustworthy partner which has translated into steep growth and many repeat borrowers.
Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK said: “Everyone in the ASK team is very proud to have reached this significant milestone.
“We have built strong momentum and have navigated the challenging economic environment with a cautious approach.
“Our unique funding structure of high net worth investors and private family offices means we do not race to deploy funds, allowing us to carefully select the opportunities which will bring the best risk-adjusted returns.
“We will continue to set ambitious yet achievable targets for our future growth believing that the property sector has shown resilience in what remains a turbulent market.”
