Allica marks £1bn in asset finance lending as broker demand accelerates

Allica Bank has surpassed £1 billion in asset finance lending since launching the proposition in 2021, marking a significant expansion in its efforts to support the UK’s established businesses.

The bank reached the halfway point of £500 million in April 2024 and says the second £500 million was delivered in almost half the time – an indication of rapidly rising demand and increased operational scale.

According to Allica, broker engagement has grown sharply, with the bank now receiving an average of 750 asset finance applications each month. The lender credits this growth to a model that blends proprietary technology with human expertise tailored to the needs of established businesses and their brokers.

To support broker relationships, Allica has built a 14-person specialist asset finance business development team positioned across the UK. The bank says the team is central to its strategy of offering brokers consistent communication, specialist guidance, and reliable decision-making.

Recent feedback from brokers appears to reflect this focus. In a survey of more than 500 asset finance brokers, 92% rated their overall experience with Allica as excellent or good, while 90% gave the same rating for their business development manager’s responsiveness and expertise. Allica says broker insight plays a direct role in shaping its roadmap, influencing a series of enhancements made over the past year.

These updates include an enhanced refinance proposition, increased support for high-end luxury vehicles, and ongoing investment in technology designed to speed up applications and improve transparency. Among the tools now in use is an auto-decisioning system that enables automated approvals for certain straightforward asset types. The lender has also broadened its soft and medium asset offering to cover areas such as IT and security equipment, restaurant fitouts, software, and even niche items including a funded padel court.

Brandon Hall, Head of Asset Finance Sales at Allica Bank, said the milestone underscores the strength of the bank’s partnership approach.

“Reaching £1 billion in asset finance lending is a huge moment for us, but it’s really a testament to the trust and support of our broker partners,” he said. “Everything we build starts with their feedback… That’s how we’ve earned a reputation for fast, consistent decision making and a service brokers can depend on.”

The £1 billion benchmark comes shortly after Allica announced it had exceeded £3.5 billion in total lending to established businesses across its commercial mortgage, bridging and growth finance divisions. The bank says its focus now is on further scaling its services and continuing to deliver for the businesses that form “the backbone of the UK’s real economy and communities.”