Allica Bank reaches £2bn commercial mortgages offered milestone

The lender added that it had expanded the criteria for its Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) proposition for interest-only owner-occupied commercial mortgages.

The firm can now support new businesses with one year of trading accounts, operators looking to open an extra site on a projection-led basis and entrepreneur with “employed experience looking to buy a successful business in the same sector”.

Allica Bank said that the change in criteria was in response to broker feedback, adding that it hoped that even more firms could access commercial finance using the scheme.

The company launched the interest-only owner-occupied commercial mortgage using the RRLS scheme earlier this year and the product is available on a maximum term of five years and the maximum loan size is £2m.

Healthcare criteria has also been widened to include children’s day nurseries.

David Holdstock (pictured), government lending manager at Allica Bank said: “The expansion of the RLS-backed mortgage is an indication of Allica’s commitment to enabling more businesses to access the funding they need to grow.

“The expansion of the RLS offering provides an excellent opportunity for brokers to support businesses with loans previously outside of our credit appetite, helping unlock funding where it may not have previously been available. The RLS is available to support all eligible businesses, not only those that are in recovery.

“Brokers are increasingly aware of the challenges that higher interest rates and difficult economic conditions are placing on businesses, and by expanding our offering we are able to support more businesses than ever before.”

Nick Baker, chief commercial officer at Allica Bank said: “The achievement of hitting £2bn of commercial mortgage offers to broker-introduced businesses shows just how crucial the broker community is to the small business finance ecosystem.

“Brokers have such a crucial role to play in today’s complex economic climate. Higher interest rates and ongoing uncertainty mean that a full view of the lending market is critical for businesses to find the most appropriate finance for them.

“Brokers have and will always be a primary focal point for Allica, as evidenced by us having reached the £2bn milestone of commercial mortgage offers to businesses introduced by our broker partners. I’d like to thank them for their unwavering support.”