While the business originally aimed for a £60m lending target within three years, the specialist lender more than tripled this figure, despite the volatile market conditions.

“If we went back to my business plan back in late 2020 before launching, the numbers were very different, a lot lower than what they ended up being. The five-year business plan has been rewritten probably three times since it was originally put together  — we just kept changing it to match our new targets,” said the founder, who was also joined by Bruno, MS Lending’s canine head of happiness.

Having launched the business in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Michael said that people in the industry thought 2021 was a “crazy time” to set up a bridging lender — however, the turbulent bridging economy worked in MS Lending’s favour. 

“Everyone was licking their wounds a little bit, wondering what to do and not concentrating on driving new business because they had to complete their current book — I didn't have one, so I didn't have to think about it.

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“I just think everyone else was a bit up in the air with what they're doing at the moment, and we were a fresh new lender that had money ready to lend. So weirdly, what was an adverse time for most people in the industry was positive for me,” he concluded. 

Michael’s vision for MS Lending was to be a lender that would stand out from the masses, and would bring a fresher perspective to the “old-fashioned” bridging market. 

“From a marketing perspective, we set out from day one that we were going to strip it all back — we were not going to use jargon or make things complicated,” he elaborated.

“We want to make people feel like we are a very approachable company,” he continued. 

While summarising his feelings about hitting the £200m lending milestone, Michael concluded: “It's a testament to everyone at MS Lending that there has been a need and want for our products in the industry.”

Looking ahead, Michael divulged that the bridging lender is now aiming to lend £500m by the end of 2025 — nevertheless, seeing the firm and its team members thrive is Michael’s main objective and pride, beyond any particular targets. 

 “I just want to see how far we can take it. I don't have any vanity that I need to have the biggest loan book.

“Coming into the office every day, and seeing [people] that came in three years ago with no experience now running teams, running departments, and living, eating, breathing it all —that for me trumps any of the numbers.”