Since its inception, Masthaven has navigated its way through a series of changes related to ownership and leadership, but Andrew and Jim have always had their eye on the changing market around them.

“There are some foundations that have stayed the same, such as relationships with intermediaries and them having trust in you as a lender, and the need for service and speed,” said Andrew.

“There have also been some very significant changes, including technology, data, credit analytics and the sophistication of how you make lending decisions.”

Thanks to a combination of AI and open banking, Andrew noted that individual characteristics of financial data could now be better utilised to provide tailored outcomes, and he expected this would continue to improve.

“Over the next five years, there will be a much larger number of lenders looking at your personal transactional data or how you have run your own personal life in order to make bespoke lending decisions,” claimed Andrew.

While Masthaven embraces tech innovation, Andrew emphasised that nothing outweighed the value of human relationships with intermediaries. “These are not just 12-month mortgages,” he said, stressing the lender’s focus on the complex, specialist nature of bridging.

Jim too had seen changes over the years, with more lenders venturing into the market, causing a shift in the broker landscape and making it more competitive.

“You're seeing the same deal come in via a number of brokers, and it just highlights that everybody's encouraged to shop around, get a better deal, and play people off against each other to drive price down,” explained Jim.

“I think there’s danger there: yes, it's good to drive price down, but do you also drive quality down?”

Masthaven has also seen its share of evolution. Andrew stepped down as CEO after the sale of the company in 2020, but kept a foot in the door by taking up a non-executive director role.

During this time — while aware that the company was no longer his, and accepting he was no longer steering the course — he couldn’t help but be concerned about the decisions being made.

“When I sold Masthaven, I was hoping that that it would grow and become a larger challenger bank, but that isn't what happened.”

The pandemic created difficult times for the firm under its new ownership, and although Andrew recognised this created the conditions to buy it back, he still felt disappointed with certain decisions made after his departure, describing what he saw as Masthaven moving from its specialist lender roots to become a medium-sized retail bank.

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“The way people dealt with Covid was something I very strongly disagreed with, and I was very disappointed in decisions that got made. But I fully recognised at that time — and I still do now — that these decisions weren't my decisions to make.”

When the opportunity arose to purchase Masthaven’s bridging and development finance book along with the intellectual property rights, Andrew seized it. Now firmly back in the driver’s seat following a record financial year to 30th June 2025, he’s laying the groundwork for the lender’s next phase of growth.

As part of its expansion plans, Masthaven has signed a lease on a new office in Camden, London, set to open in November, with fit-out works beginning in September. The new space will accommodate 85 to 90 staff and underpin the firm’s ambitious growth strategy.

The business is also in the final stages of agreeing on a nine-figure funding line — the firm’s fifth — provided by an international investment bank. The new funding will be utilised “in order to further enhance the level of lending, which will help us become more competitive and launch new products,” said Andrew.

Part of this includes an enhanced bridging offering with lower rates to be introduced in September, as well as a plan for new development finance products, aimed at everything from ground-up developments to commercial and residential conversions. On the other side of the business, Masthaven will be launching and expand first-charge owner-occupier and BTL purchase and mortgage products, as well as refinance options.

The lender is also gearing up for its first full public securitisation, which Andrew anticipated would take shape in 2027. “[We want to] take Masthaven back to the size it was, just as a non-bank lender rather than as a retail bank,” he asserted.

Looking further into the future, Andrew had his sights set on new territories: “The future for us is very clear. One of the hardest challenges for a business is knowing where you want to be — but our longer-term future also involves going into commercial and mortgages.

“Commercial lending Is not on the product roadmap for the next two years, but it is in a longer-term business plan.”

With Masthaven looking forward to new ventures, Jim has found that handing back its banking status has brought certain benefits to the lender.

“Now we're free from the constraints of being a bank, it enables us to have that flexibility. And I always think one of the key things for us as a lender is deliverability,” said Jim.

With the business now being steered in a direction he sees fit, Andrew is looking forward to taking Masthaven forward from where he left it, in an industry he described as “full of entrepreneurial, exciting individuals who fundamentally want what's best for their clients. And we're working together as an industry to try to deliver that.”