'Helping brokers succeed is fundamental to how we do business': Mike Says, GB Bank

FR: For those who don’t know anything about GB Bank, please can you briefly summarise who GB Bank are and its story so far?

GB Bank is a new kind of UK bank, built for lending where it’s needed most.

We’re fully licensed and focused on supporting borrowers in areas often underserved by traditional lenders — offering specialist solutions across bridging, commercial, and expat/foreign national buy-to-let.

Originally founded to drive positive impact through property and regeneration, GB Bank has evolved into a bold, entrepreneurial lender with a clear mission: to deliver, high-impact lending that backs real people, real projects, who have real ambition.

Since securing our full banking licence in August 2022, we’ve grown rapidly, building a £2bn+ balance sheet and achieving sustainable profitability in a short space of time.

We’ve recently increased our maximum loan size to £20m so we can better support larger and more complex residential and commercial schemes, and the backing we’ve had from investors like Hera Holdings and the Teesside Pension Fund, totalling £85m, has been instrumental in fuelling that growth.

We’re now aiming to add £500m of new lending over the next six months, with a clear target of reaching a £3bn balance sheet by year-end. That growth is underpinned by the incredible talent within our team, and we’re continuing to invest in that, with plans to bolster our team further.

It’s a hugely exciting time for the bank. We’re ambitious, agile, and absolutely focused on delivering outstanding results for our brokers and borrowers.

FR: What types of lending does GB Bank provide and what would you say are its key strengths in terms of customer types and lending purposes?

One focus for us is on property investors and our lending spans everything from HMOs and multi-unit blocks to more complex portfolio and corporate structures, as these are areas where many traditional lenders struggle to deliver.

We’re particularly strong in buy-to-let as well as short-term finance, helping borrowers secure funding for auction purchases, refurbishment projects, chain breaks, and acquisition planning. Crucially, we build in exit strategies from day one, whether that’s refinance or resale, ensuring our customers are set up for success from the outset.

Our sweet spot is working with experienced property investors who need tailored funding and value speed of execution. We’re comfortable with layered ownership models, corporate borrowers, and have a clear appetite to lend to foreign nationals and expats, an area especially where high street banks tend to retreat.

Every deal we look at is assessed on its individual merits. We don’t rely on rigid tick-box criteria, which makes us an ideal partner for brokers handling more nuanced or time-sensitive cases.

Above all, we’re committed to supporting economic growth and housing delivery across the UK. That’s at the heart of our lending philosophy and it shapes every decision we make.

FR: What makes GB different / unique?

What sets GB Bank apart is that we’re not here to offer more of the same. We’re a fully licensed UK bank, but we operate with a specialist lender’s mindset and are focused on delivering bold, practical solutions across bridging, commercial lending, and expat or foreign national buy-to-let.

Where traditional lenders often hesitate, we move decisively. Ours is a relationship-led approach, grounded in real-world understanding. Whether it’s a complex buy-to-let or bridging case, a high-value commercial deal, or an international investor needing a tailored solution, we get hands-on and shape the funding around the borrower, not the other way around.

What makes us different is the combination of three things: the credibility of being a regulated bank, the agility of a specialist lender, and the confidence to lend where others won’t. We exist to unlock opportunity, not just serve the status quo and that’s a mindset we apply to every deal we do.

FR: You recently announced that you had surpassed £2bn in terms of your balance sheet and that you’d like to hit £3bn by the end of the year – what does this mean for brokers using you for buy-to-let and bridging loans?

Reaching the £2bn balance sheet milestone isn’t just a growth figure for us; it’s a signal to brokers that GB Bank is here at scale, with the strength and stability to support them and their clients long-term.

What this means for brokers is even more firepower and flexibility. We’re continuing to grow our lending capacity, which enables us to take on larger and more complex buy-to-let and bridging cases. It also means quicker decision-making, enhanced service, and a deeper investment in our people and systems, all aimed at making it easier for brokers to do business with us.

Ultimately, our growth allows us to say ‘yes’ more often to the nuanced, the urgent, and the ambitious deals that others might walk away from. That’s the real benefit for brokers.

FR: How do you see the buy-to-let and bridging market currently and what opportunities do you think are there for brokers and lenders?

The buy-to-let and bridging markets have shown real resilience in the face of higher interest rates. We’re still seeing strong demand — particularly from portfolio landlords and high-net-worth investors who are actively seeking opportunities for yield and long-term capital growth.

This shift has opened up real opportunities for brokers. These investors often need tailored advice, especially as they navigate more complex deal structures. Bridging, for example, is such a versatile tool for auction purchases, portfolio reshaping, planning, and all kinds of refurbishment projects.

In this environment, brokers who can structure deals well, navigate lender criteria, and educate clients on alternative strategies like using SPVs, layered ownership, or limited company structures are incredibly valuable. There’s also real headroom in underserved niches such as expats, foreign nationals, and even first-time landlords looking for guidance.

From a lender’s perspective, the growth in hybrid products like bridge-to-let and refurb-to-let is creating room for innovation. Those who invest in technology to speed up onboarding, valuations, and decisioning processes will stand out. 

All told, I think this is a market that rewards agility, expertise, and real broker-lender collaboration. There’s a lot of opportunity out there, we just need to move with it.

FR: What kind of support do you offer to help brokers?

At GB Bank, our approach is genuinely relationship-led. We don’t just look at a case and issue an instant ‘no’ if it doesn’t fit a standard template. Instead, we take the time to understand the deal, what the client’s trying to achieve, where the complexities lie, and how we can structure the funding to make it work.

Our job is to find a way to say ‘yes’ wherever possible, and that starts with supporting brokers. We work closely with them from the outset, offering direct access to decision-makers, quick feedback, and hands-on support throughout the process. It’s about being a true partner, not just a product provider.

For us, helping brokers succeed is fundamental to how we do business.

FR: What can we expect to see from GB Bank for the rest of 2025?

The rest of 2025 is set to be an exciting chapter for GB Bank. We’ve got a number of major developments in the pipeline, all designed to support brokers more effectively and expand our reach across the UK.

We’ll be launching a new website that better reflects who we are as a modern, specialist bank, and we’re working hard behind the scenes on a brand-new online decision and application system. Crucially, this has been built with intermediaries in mind, and it’ll eliminate duplicative data entry, streamline the journey, and offer live case updates to keep brokers fully in the loop from start to finish.

Geographically, we’re continuing to grow our footprint. While we’ve built strong foundations in the South, we’re now expanding deeper into the Midlands and the North to support even more brokers and property professionals across the UK.
Ultimately, our focus remains on delivering tailored, timely lending and making it as easy as possible for brokers to do business with us.