Allica has undoubtedly made waves, having lent £2bn to established businesses since its launch in 2020 and been voted number one for startups with the strongest three-year revenue growth in the FT-backed Sifted 100: UK & Ireland leaderboard. The Tuscan acquisition marks another Allica flag in the ground of the specialist finance market’s landscape.

According to Justin Trowse, head of bridging at Allica (pictured above), it was a “good time to strike”. The stars of the economic climate started to align, with rising house prices, declining inflation rates, and the first fall in interest rates in four years. Allica felt it was time to take on the bridging market.

“A lot of the Allica Bank supporters have been calling out for bridging finance for some time,” shared Justin. According to its surveys, brokers liked the option of staying with the bank if a commercial loan was knocked back, by using a bridging loan and later moving onto a commercial loan.

Its bank funding means the business can also be a lot more competitive with its offering.

When looking at how it would enter the bridging space, those who had dealt with Tuscan saw the benefits of an acquisition. “Tuscan and [the] brokers that deal with [them] have only seen it as a good thing because pricing has come down, products [have been] broadened, and the resource they've got behind them,” explained Justin.

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“They're able to act quicker on pricing, quoting loans, and generally just offering a better proposition for their underlying borrowers.”

The purchase means that Allica has moved into the residential and refurbishment markets, taking on Tuscan’s already established loan books in these areas, as well as the firm’s expertise in these fields.

But the expansion doesn’t stop there. There is another territory Justin is keen for Allica to move into: “The most obvious opportunity is bridge-to-let,” he divulged.

Justin claimed that while there were players in the residential bridge-to-let sector, there was a complete absence when it comes to commercial. And even those, he said, may be doing it by accident.

“If we can utilise Allica's technology and transition between bridging and commercial mortgages and great offers from the get-go, [as well as] the certainty of exit, that would be very compelling to the market, and it would truly be the USP.”

The two firms have a significant size difference between them, with Allica employing staff in the hundreds, compared with Tuscan’s more modest headcount.

At the time of speaking to Justin, Allica was already in the process of “padding out” its teams in the regions, such as the home counties and Scotland, while also looking at the South West.

The plan to boost its bridging team will help support Allica’s ambitious goals, which include reaching a £300m loan book as its first milestone and £500m by 2027. “To achieve that, we've definitely got to grow out the team,” said Justin.

Justin is keen to integrate Tuscan quickly, with a full rebrand of the lender set to take place by Q1 2025. Tuscan is currently called ‘Tuscan powered by Allica’, but the brand will come under the Allica name in the new year.

“Getting everyone under one brand is a lot simpler [and] best signposted for introducers,” said Justin, “just one brand, one company that does everything.”