"You'd struggle to find a lender more committed to customer service"

Two years after launch, Coatbridge-based bridging lender ScotLend Group has doubled its team, its monthly completions and its funding line with Shawbrook. Most of its lending now takes place south of the border.

Co-founded in September 2024 by David Travers and Sanjay Agarwal, ScotLend provides first and second charge bridging loans from £30,000 to £2m. It lends up to 75% LTV on residential property, 70% on commercial and 60% on land with planning, with an average loan size of around £300,000.

We spoke to Travers about the lender's growth, its approach to speed and why it has changed its view on exit strategies.

How has the last year gone for ScotLend?

Really well. We're on an upward trajectory. We now have 15 people, double the number we had this time last year, and we've been hiring across the board, including new business development managers and underwriters. We're completing around 20 loans a month on average, which is twice what we were doing at the same point in 2025.

Where is that growth coming from?

Mostly from England and Wales. In terms of loan volumes, we're now roughly 60:40 in favour of south of the border. Last year it was the other way round. Most of what we're writing now is in London and the Midlands, simply because it's a much bigger market.

Are brokers still seeing you as a Scottish lender?

To a degree. We're well known in Scotland. Other lenders refer brokers to us when they have a deal in Scotland or the Highlands and Islands that they can't do themselves. So in our marketing we don't just talk about rates. We make the point that, although we're based in Scotland, we do a lot of lending down south and we're very much available there.

The message is getting through, but there are still parts of the industry that don't realise it. That's why our Highland cow has been visiting some of London's best-known sights on our new website.

What do you put the growth down to?

Service, above everything else. We're two years in and still very keen to impress brokers and their clients. When an application comes in, the broker gets an email with terms within the hour. If the client is going ahead, we instruct solicitors and order the valuation that same day.

No Drama. Just Deals.

Everything is about pace and making sure the process runs smoothly. People like working with us because they get a quick yes or no, and they can usually speak to me or one of the senior team directly to get a decision. If that means turning leads around after hours, we do it.

How important are AVMs and dual representation to that speed?

They're fundamental. We've used AVMs from day one and currently consider AVMs and desktop valuations up to 75% LTV on residential property. Commercial deals still go through a full valuation. We also extended dual legal representation from Scotland to England and Wales last October.

Dual rep is becoming much more widely accepted as clients see the benefits, and the biggest benefit is speed. Many brokers now ask for both an AVM and dual rep because they know it keeps the deal moving. Our quickest completions, some within three working days, usually combine an AVM, a lower LTV, a clean financial profile and dual representation.

Does moving that quickly mean taking more risk?

No. We're very commercial, and if there's a way to make a deal work faster, we'll try it. But protecting capital always comes first. Every deal is judged on its merits within our criteria, and if it doesn't make sense, we won't do it. We're an experienced team, and we know what can and can't be delivered.

Has doubling in size made it harder to keep up the pace?

Not at all, because speed is our main driver and it's built into everything we do. Everyone who joins learns that straight away. The only real operational change has been making sure we have enough people to maintain our turnaround times.

We're not the cheapest lender in the market, and we don't ever intend to be. But you'd struggle to find a lender more committed to customer service.

How have market conditions changed your approach?

It's a tough market, but bridging always is. The biggest change for us is on exits. We always used to like deals where the exit was a sale. Over the last year, we've come to prefer a refinance.

In some areas, property is still selling very quickly. In others, including London, it's sitting on the market for longer, and there's a lot of uncertainty. A refinance exit relies less on finding a buyer at the right price within the loan term, so it gives everyone more certainty over how the loan will be repaid.

What's next for ScotLend?

Shawbrook has doubled our funding facility, so we're in a strong position to grow the loan book. But we don't want to put pressure on ourselves to push money out of the door. We want to grow organically, keep the service levels that got us here, and enjoy what we do.