B&C Awards 2019: winners announced

he winners of the 2019 Bridging & Commercial Awards have been crowned.

The Atlantis-themed event — sponsored by MFS — took place at the Hurlingham Club in Fulham yesterday (6th June) with more than 650 guests in attendance.

In total, 25 winners were announced as the bridging, commercial, development and alternative finance industries met to celebrate the success and growth of these sectors over the past 12 months.

Octane Capital took home the Bridging Lender of the Year award, while Gemma Salousti was named Underwriter of the Year.

Mark Posniak, managing director at Octane Capital, said: "To win Best Newcomer last year and then Best Bridging Lender this year is something everyone at team Octane is immensely proud of.

"We've worked extremely hard to build our productless lending proposition over the past two years and this prestigious award shows it has gained some real traction in the market.

"For Gemma Salousti to have won the Best Underwriter award is clearly the icing on the cake.

"It goes without saying that we owe everything to our valued broker partners and we will endeavour to serve them as best we can during 2019 and beyond.”

MT Finance received the Service Excellence — Lenders award, and was also highly commended in the Bridging Lender of the Year category.

In addition, Christian Gugolz was highly commended for Lender Relationship Manager of the Year.

Gareth Lewis, commercial director at MT Finance, claimed that 2019 had been a good year for the company so far and being recognised for service excellence at the B&C Awards capped off the first half of the year wonderfully.

"We are thrilled that the hard work our team is putting in has been rewarded, and we look forward to continuing to support the brokers in our industry and thank them for this award."

The Service Excellence — Brokers award was won by Adapt Finance, which also took the Bridging Broker of the Year award back to Manchester.

Stephen Burns, member of the Adapt Finance team, said: "Never could we have expected to have duplicated last year, taking account of the strong competition, in securing the two most sought-after broker awards of the day.

"Both have now been won by Adapt on three occasions, including the service excellence crown for the last three years running.

"To be recognised in this way shows our commitment to our clients is consistent and we are rightly extremely proud."

The Best Bridging Newcomer — Broker award was won by LDNfinance, while Tuscan Capital was named the Best Bridging Newcomer — Lender.

Commenting on the awards, Monique Subasic, head of brand and marketing, said: "These awards are a highlight on the Specialist Finance event calendar, and we are so honoured and grateful to have won the Best Bridging Broker Newcomer Award.

"We would like to thank all those who have supported us in our rapid growth, making it possible for us to win the award.

"This has definitely been a team effort."

Colin Sanders, CEO at Tuscan Capital, said: “We’re naturally thrilled and delighted to have won the ‘Best Newcomer — Lender’ award at this year’s B&C Awards.

“Over the 11 years of its existence, the B&C Awards selection process has won a deserved reputation for thoroughness, integrity and impartiality.

"This makes winning all the more satisfying.

“On behalf of the whole Tuscan Capital team — the people who made this win possible — I’d like to thank Medianett for pulling off another show-stopping event, the judging panel for the time they donated to this considerable endeavour, and, of course, to our excellent brokers who nominated and supported us throughout.”

Aldermore triumphed in the Development Lender of the Year category for loans up to £10m and Maslow Capital scooped the Development Lender of the Year award for loans above £10m.

Ellis Sher, chief executive officer at Maslow Capital, said: "Maslow was started 10 years ago and was one of the earliest movers in the alternative lending space.

"We are hugely appreciative to our borrowers and network of introducers who have supported us over the years."

The Specialist Distributor of the Year award was clinched by Crystal Specialist Finance.

Jo Breeden, managing director at Crystal Specialist Finance, said: "This is the one we wanted to win, and our heartfelt thanks go out to the lenders and brokers with whom we have exceptional relationships which allow us to complete more and more cases year-on-year.

"A big thank you also to all the staff at Crystal, it's their exceptional skills and downright determination which makes us the specialist finance company of choice."

The Outstanding Contribution recipient Alan Margolis, director of credit and operations at Masthaven, added: “I am incredibly grateful to B&C to have won this award.

"Our sector is a positive force within the finance world and helps so many people and businesses.

"I look forward to playing my part for many years to come. 

"A special thanks, of course, to the Masthaven team in making this possible!”

The winners were chosen by two judging panels, who met last month to decide who deserved the coveted titles.

Full list of winners of the B&C Awards 2019:

Best Bridging Newcomer — Broker:

Winner: LDNfinance Highly Commended: Capital B Property Finance

Best Bridging Newcomer — Lender:

Winner: Tuscan Capital Highly Commended: Glenhawk

Best Commercial Broker:

Winner: Pure Commercial Finance Highly Commended: Crystal Specialist Finance

Specialist Product of the Year:

Winner: Precise Mortgages — Refurb BTL Highly Commended: Aspen Bridging — 80% LTV

Development Lender of the Year £10m+:

Winner: Maslow Capital Highly Commended: United Trust Bank

Development Lender of the Year up to £10m:

Winner: Aldermore Highly Commended: United Trust Bank

Mezzanine Lender of the Year:

Winner: Proseed Capital Highly Commended: Beaufort Capital

Bridging Funding Partner of the Year:

Winner: OneSavings Bank Highly Commended: Toorak Capital Partners

Underwriter of the Year:

Winner: Gemma Salousti — Octane Capital Highly Commended: Michael Schofield — Together

Marketing Partner of the Year:

Precise Mortgages 

P2P Lender of the Year:

Winner: Assetz Capital Highly Commended: Kuflink

Best Bridging Broker:

Winner: Adapt Finance Highly Commended: Brightstar Financial

Best Valuer:

Winner: Robert Sterling Surveyors Highly Commended: VAS Panel

Best Development Broker:

Winner: Sirius Property Finance Highly Commended: Pure Commercial Finance

Commercial Lender of the Year:

Winner: Together Highly Commended: Aldermore

Regulated Lender of the Year:

Winner: Precise Mortgages Highly Commended: Together

Service Excellence — Lenders:

Winner: MT Finance Highly Commended: Ortus Secured Finance

Service Excellence — Brokers:

Winner: Adapt Finance Highly Commended: Brightstar Financial

Best Specialist Distributor:

Winner: Crystal Specialist Finance Highly Commended: Brightstar Financial

Best Solicitor:

Winner: Brightstone Law Highly Commended: JMW

Best Specialist Bank:

Winner: United Trust Bank Highly Commended: OneSavings Bank

Lender Relationship Manager of the Year:

Winner: Lorenzo Satchell — Together Highly Commended: Christian Gugolz — MT Finance

Editor’s Choice Award:

Winner: United Trust Bank

Bridging Lender of the Year:

Winner: Octane Capital Highly Commended: MT Finance

Outstanding Contribution:

Alan Margolis