Bridging lender launches without product sheet

Instead, each loan application to the new lender will be structured on a highly bespoke basis and priced according to risk, according to bosses.

Jonathan Samuels, chief executive of Octane Capital, said the lender will focus on complex, non-standard and larger loans that brokers may struggle to place with other lenders.

Octane Capital will lend across residential and commercial bridging, bridge-to-let and bridge-to-sell, heavy and light refurbishment plus from the third quarter of this year it will offer development finance.

Octane Capital will lend from as little as £100,000 up to £25m. 

It is open to applications from every kind of borrower, from individuals, partnerships and limited companies to foreign nationals, expats, offshore companies and trusts.

Bridging has changed beyond recognition in the past eight years and we sensed the need to change with it.Mark Posniak

Mr Samuels said: “Bridging has changed significantly since I first entered the market back in 2009, with ever lower LTV-based pricing the dominant narrative. But for us, this is misplaced. 

“Rather than be constrained by a restrictive price to LTV matrix, we’ve decided to price for risk, which means no set product sheet. That is what authentic bridging was always about but in many corners of the industry it seems to have been forgotten. 

“Our goal is to return bridging to its roots while retaining the professionalism and transparency that have emerged since 2009. 

“It is what we’re calling the third generation of bridging – the best bits of the two previous generations combined.”

Mark Posniak, managing director of Octane Capital and former managing director of Octopus-owned lender Dragonfly, said: “Octane is definitely not Dragonfly part two. 

“Bridging has changed beyond recognition in the past eight years and we sensed the need to change with it. 

“Having looked at the market, we felt the current trend of low margin, high volume lending — pricing on LTV and LTV alone — is a dangerous game that won’t end well. 

“Instead we’re going to focus on complex loans that the growing ranks of vanilla lenders shy away from because they are out of their comfort zones. 

“It is in large and non-standard loans that we feel we can add the most value — and to that end we’re keen to take on the most complex loans the market can throw at us.”

Dale Jannels, managing director of Atom, said bespoke offerings are not uncommon in the residential sector and his business has a number of lenders who price per risk depending on circumstances.  

Mr Jannels said: “This is perfectly acceptable when dealing with complex scenarios and thinking outside the box.  

“It is good to see other areas of the industry also taking on this approach.  As technology enhances the market substantially, more and more may not fit the standard credit score requirements and will need a manual assessment. 

“Offering a solution for this can only be a good thing.”

emma.hughes@ft.com