London-based specialist bridging and development lender, Saxon Trust, has announced a strategic partnership with OakNorth, securing a new £35m funding line.
The partnership comes as traditional lenders are increasingly retreating from the mid-market, providing Saxon Trust an opportunity to capture additional market share. The lender, which was set up in 2006, has significantly expanded its product offerings since 2020.
“Against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty and rising interest rates this new funding line, in strategic partnership with OakNorth, underlines our commitment to our clients, our brokers and indeed to the wider market,” said Andrew Gardiner, founding director at Saxon Trust.
OakNorth, launched in 2015, focuses on providing debt finance to the UK’s “missing middle” – SMEs that are typically overlooked. In the first half of this year alone, OakNorth lent nearly £900m to British businesses, aiding in the creation of 41,000 new jobs and 29,000 new homes across the UK.
Mohith Sondhi, senior director of debt finance at OakNorth, said: “This transaction represented an exciting opportunity for us to forge a close working partnership with Saxon Trust.
“Since its launch in 2006, Saxon’s team has built up an impressive reputation and experience, having traded successfully through several market cycles.
“We are delighted to be working with them as they look to take their business to the next level.”
Brian West (pictured), head of sales & marketing at Saxon Trust, added: “The team at OakNorth quickly understood our diverse product offering from bridging loans, refurbs and conversions right through to ground-up development projects and development exits, and we are delighted that they are backing us strongly to grow volumes across our entire product range.”
