Allica Bank enters bridge finance market with Tuscan acquisition

By Gloria Methri

Business bank Allica has acquired bridging lender Tuscan Capital, representing Allica’s first foray into the bridging finance market.

The Tuscan team, based across the UK, will eventually integrate fully into the Allica team, benefitting from access to Allica’s funding base and distribution network. Allica, which has been steadily expanding its commercial finance offering for its established business customers, will be able to leverage Tuscan’s existing bridging expertise and broker network.

Allica has hired Justin Trowse as Head of Bridging to spearhead its bridging distribution strategy.

The acquisition by Allica will further extend its commercial finance product offering to include bridging and refurbishment finance. Tuscan’s offering in residential bridging will focus on semi-commercial and full commercial bridging.

Tuscan Capital was founded in 2018 by Colin Sanders, the former CEO of bridging and development lender Omni Capital/Fortwell Capital, and Ed Parsons, the former Chief Financial Officer.

Commenting on the acquisition, Sanders said, “Ed and I set up Tuscan with a vision to transform what we saw as a broken bridging market, with a specific focus on bringing back speed and decisiveness to the decision-making process. Allica’s no-nonsense approach to banking shows they share this vision with us.

“This is a positive development for the Tuscan team, our intermediary partners, and the wider SME community, and we look forward to the proposition enhancements that will undoubtedly follow today’s news. By becoming part of this award-winning bank, we will be able to accelerate the fantastic work our team has already done and make an even greater difference to the market.”

Allica Bank’s Chief Commercial Officer Nick Baker said, “Tuscan’s commitment to service, and in particular their focus on speed and transparency for their broker partners and customers, meant the synergies with Allica’s values were clear. Commercial bridging is an important but underserved part of the lending market. That’s why we believe bringing together Tuscan’s expertise and existing relationships with Allica’s resources and network is a winning combination for the market.”