New specialist lender prepares for launch

COLG is now recruiting a team under the leadership of Jason Oakley, former Managing Director of Commercial Banking and Mortgages at Metro Bank and Head of SME at NatWest and RBS.

Joining Jason will be Bryce Glover, former MD of Commercial Banking at Alliance & Leicester/Santander and an NED of Newcastle Building Society.

COLG recently raised £20m to develop an integrated property and FS business and hopes to obtain a full banking licence within two years.

The firm is backed by Delancey and Bard family who are listed on AIM.

COLG also recently acquired Milton Homes, an equity release provider that owns and manages residential properties acquired through home reversion plans, to sit alongside its other business platform, Credit Asset Management Limited.

In November, Credit Asset Management completed a refinancing exercise and arranged an additional £4m block funding facility with Hampshire Trust Bank. It has also started the process of establishing a new line of business called Property & Funding Solutions Limited to provide bridging and development finance for commercial clients, as well as secured lending for existing customers.

COLG has also raised £3m through the issue of additional shares, after allowing for costs relating to the capital reorganisation, issue of additional shares and the acquisition of Milton Homes.

Michael Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “During the first six months of the financial year, the business of our leasing and loans platform, CAML, continued to progress with its ‘own book’ portfolio increasing from £13.8m to £14.1m in September. With the increased financial strength of the Group following the completion on 5 October of the acquisition of Milton Homes and the receipt of £3m net from the issue of additional shares, the Company is now well placed to develop and realise the potential of both its operating platforms.

"In addition, we have made good progress in delivering on the strategy set out in our recent Admission Document, ensuring that over the coming years COLG will have a strong, distinctive and value accretive business operating in three attractive market segments. I am delighted that our banking licence application will shortly be under way. We are also in the process of establishing our new business line in property bridging funding under the existing CAML business and our re-launch of the Milton Holmes equity release business may be achieved more quickly than originally envisaged. Overall, the future is looking bright with a strong leadership team in place to deliver on all our strategic objectives.”