Partnerships built to last

Introduce your clients to a financing partner that knows the route to success, with specialist debt finance from £500,000 up to tens of millions.
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Creative debt, designed for the future

We’re closing the financial gap for fast-growth UK businesses and entrepreneurs with lofty aspirations. That means breaking the mould of traditional commercial banking, with highly flexible, creative debt structures, designed for future growth.

So if you’ve got a client that’s looking for a refreshing approach to financing, find out how we can work together.

Custom-built corporate finance

When your client needs to raise new capital for mergers and acquisitions, public-to-private takeovers, management buyouts or initial public offerings, we can provide invaluable expertise and corporate financing within just a few weeks of initiation.

 

Capital expenditure for future investments

The best businesses invest in the future, whether it’s new sustainable machinery, land, technology, or people. If you’re advising on long-term growth, we can assist with big investments or scalable projects so your client can keep hold of their working capital.

Property finance

We’ve got years of experience supporting leading business owners on new investments and developments for residential, commercial or mixed-use property. Whether it’s a new buy-to-let venture, cutting-edge bioscience labs, or a hotel with a difference, our property finance loans include flexible pricing structures, umbrella facilities, bridging loans, revolving credit facilities and bespoke term debt.

Specialist funds finance

We have extensive knowledge and experience working with a range of asset classes including private equity, ESG and credit hedge funds. We’re seasoned in providing subscription/capital-call facilities, hybrid facilities, NAV finance and much more.

Some previous OakNorth financing partnerships include: Bluegem Capital Partners, RM Funds, L1 Capital and ICG Longbow.

Casual business meeting with woman standing up smiling at colleagues

Success through shared connections

No business is an island, and neither are its lenders. We’re proud to collaborate closely with accountants, corporate advisors, brokers, lawyers and other debt and mezzanine lenders to give businesses the best shot at success.

Our approach is simple: no blanket ‘no’s’, no hiding behind credit teams, no off-the-shelf solutions for convenience. Just flexible, transparent funding from start to future.

Partner with us

The team at OakNorth were able to put together a single facility that captures both the acquisition and refurbishment of the hotel, allowing us to focus on the repositioning of the assets, and move quickly without interruption.

Fabio Longo, Managing Director at Bain Capital Credit
This is the third time we’ve chosen OakNorth Bank as our funding partner and there’s a reason we keep returning to them – the team is collaborative, constructive, and commercial. There’s no broad-brush assumptions or computer-says-no decisions.
Ali Reza Ravanshad, Chairman and Founder of Dandi Group

The team at OakNorth took a very pragmatic and flexible approach – there was no box-ticking, no off-the-shelf solutions, and we genuinely got a loan structure that works for our business. They were also very proactive – morning, noon or night, they were available – a very professional and positive experience.

Tracey Storey, CEO of ICP Nurseries

OakNorth’s experience gained from working with some of the leading property developers really shone through during the entire lending process, allowing us time to invest in areas where our own expertise and passion can make the most impact.

Kate Lawlor, CEO, Bruntwood SciTech
"OakNorth went above and beyond what was required, and I have no doubt that their bespoke facility will help us deliver our exciting growth plans going forward.”
Adrienne Cherrywood, Headteacher and Proprietor of Cressey College

In some ways securing funding from OakNorth was similar to the process with traditional lenders, while in other ways it was refreshingly different. They asked for detailed financial information, both historic and forward-looking, and the lending decisions were committee-based. The most notable differences were speed, transparency and a personalised service.

Anthony Perring, former CFO of LEON

Why partner with OakNorth?

We deliver on the terms we put out

If we agree to financing, we’ll deliver on the terms we put out, with pace. We’re known for executing deals efficiently with an entrepreneurial approach and transparency across the funding process.

We get creative with our loan structures

If your client’s project or circumstances don’t fit neatly into a box called ‘the norm’ we’re on hand to help. We create innovative loan structures and facilities that are often deemed ‘too complex’ elsewhere.

We keep communication fluid and frequent

We’re not fussy about our comms channels. Our debt specialists are only a call, text, email, Whatsapp, or voice note away, no matter what time zone or hour of the day: we’ll keep things moving for a seamless transaction. And if you want a real-time update of the transaction you can log into our online Lending Portal at any point to check any one of your clients’ loans.

We’re laser-focused on debt

Where other lenders may offer a suite of lending products, we specialise in debt financing only. That means you’ll be working with accomplished industry leaders who have structured multi-million-pound loans across a diverse range of sectors and projects.

We’re transparent to the core

We’re not in the business of time wasting. If your client is a good fit for OakNorth, we’ll get the ball rolling and keep you and them involved in every key decision and milestone. They may even be invited to discuss their needs directly with the decision makers at our Credit Committee.

We're happy to take the lead

If your client is experienced in financing, we’re happy to take the lead and work directly with them to find the most efficient path to funding. If they need your expertise we’ll keep in close collaboration so you can support them as and when.

Meet Sam Havill, Director of BTTC Infrastructure

When they needed a loan to complete their management takeover, we were able to provide the funding they needed quickly, leaving them to get on with advising on major innovative projects across the rail industry.

View transcript

Rail is impactful to me because it connects communities, it connects people and businesses around the country and I think throughout history, it’s always proven to be a key enabler for communities and businesses. So BTTC stands for ‘better through total collaboration’ and we’re a management consultancy that advises the infrastructure sector on how to deliver complex infrastructure projects in a more collaborative way. We bring an approach that brings clients and their suppliers much closer together and ultimately we think clients get much better results out of that. And we’re now working in all four corners of the UK and also in Canada.

 

We heard of OakNorth through a corporate finance advisor to us and this is someone that we were working with to facilitate a change of ownership in our business. This corporate advisor was someone that we really kind of trusted, and they recommended to us that we speak to OakNorth about our needs. The accessibility of the people at OakNorth is really something that I’ve noticed quite early on in the relationship. If we have an issue that we need to talk through, or just some advice that we want, we’re getting responses really quickly. The process of working with OakNorth was great and the things that springs to mind is collaboration and honesty. And what I remember initially was working with their credit committee, which was their board members who were taking an active interest in our company, asking great questions about us, where we started and where we’re heading. And it was very relaxed, and it’s got a really nice feeling. We’re having that kind of conversation which you don’t usually get when you deal with banks and lenders.

 

I think if you’re looking to work with a bank who can operate as partners and operate in a more collaborative and informal way, then absolutely I would recommend OakNorth.

How do I introduce my clients?

You may be a lawyer, broker, accountant, or corporate advisor, you may have a client in mind, or you may just want to get in touch to find out more for the future.

Whatever your specialism or current situation, start a relationship with OakNorth today by getting in touch using the form below.  From then it’s easy, we’ll give you a call and provide you with the details you need to connect your clients.

All loan applications are subject to a Credit Committee, which we invite the borrower to take part in. We of course, financially compensate our partners for successful collaborations.

FAQs

We are sector agnostic. For us, our focus is on supporting great businesses with strong management teams. Since our launch in September 2015, we’ve supported businesses from a whole range of sectors including, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, and life sciences.

Whether you have a client ready for finance now, or you want to find out more about our business loans, you can fill out the short form above. We’ll then give you a callback and direct you to the right member of the team to progress.

We work with a range of different partners, including brokers, accountants, lawyers, corporate advisors, private equity sponsors, debt funds, and wealth managers. If you advise experienced SMEs, then we’re open to a partnership.

At the moment, the minimum loan size that we provide businesses is £1million.