Allica enters bridging market with Tuscan Capital acquisition

Business bank Allica has acquired bridging lender Tuscan Capital.

Tuscan Capital was founded in 2018 by Colin Sanders, who was previously CEO of bridging and development lender Omni Capital/Fortwell Capital, and Ed Parsons, who also served as Tuscan’s chief financial officer. 

It offers commercial and semi-commercial short-term lending, alongside residential bridging.

As part of the acquisition, Tuscan employees will integrate into the Allica team over time.

In addition, Allica has hired Justin Trowse as head of bridging to spearhead its offering. Trowse was previously director of structured property finance at LendInvest and was previously head of bridging finance.

Colin Sanders said: “Ed and I set up Tuscan with a vision to transform what we saw as a broken bridging market, with a specific focus on bringing back speed and decisiveness to the decision-making process. Allica’s no-nonsense approach to banking shows they share this vision with us.

“This is a positive development for the Tuscan team, our intermediary partners, and the wider SME community, and we look forward to the proposition enhancements that will undoubtedly follow today’s news. By becoming part of this award-winning bank, we will be able to accelerate the fantastic work our team has already done and make an even greater difference to the market.”

Allica Bank’s chief commercial officer Nick Baker, added: “Tuscan’s commitment to service, and in particular their focus on speed and transparency for their broker partners and customers, meant the synergies with Allica’s values were clear. Commercial bridging is an important but underserved part of the lending market. That’s why we believe bringing together Tuscan’s expertise and existing relationships with Allica’s resources and network is a winning combination for the market.”