Compare Sancus Bridging Loan Quotes Against The Market

Sancus (formerly known as Sancus BMS and GLI Finance) is a specialist "alternative" property lender. They are listed on the London Stock Exchange and operate across multiple jurisdictions.

Important Distinction: Sancus is primarily an unregulated lender with a unique geographical footprint.

• Not a High Street Bank: They do not offer personal mortgages for buying a home to live in.

• Institutional Funding: In late 2025, Sancus announced it was exiting the "peer-to-peer" (P2P) retail market to focus entirely on institutional funding. This means they are now a pure balance-sheet style lender for professionals, rather than a crowdfunding platform.

Offshore Expertise: Unlike almost every other UK specialist lender, Sancus has a massive presence in Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, and Ireland, as well as the UK.

You can get independent advice and a whole-of-market comparison of Sancus' bridging finance products from one of our advisers below:

About Sancus

Sancus is designed for property developers, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals. Their philosophy is "relationship lending."

Because they operate in offshore jurisdictions (Channel Islands) where banking options are often limited, they have developed a reputation for handling high-value, complex international cases that mainland UK lenders struggle to understand. They use manual underwriting exclusively, allowing them to lend to foreign nationals, expats, and complex corporate structures (SPVs, Trusts).

Bridging Finance and Mortgage Products

Sancus lends across the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and Gibraltar.

• Bridging Finance:

  • Fast Funding: Loans to bridge a gap (e.g., buying before selling, or auction purchases).

  • Heavy Refurbishment: They fund complex renovation projects where the property value will increase significantly.

  • High Loan Sizes: They are comfortable with large loans, typically ranging from £500k up to £15m+.

• Development Finance:

  • Ground-Up: Funding for developers building residential housing schemes.

  • High Leverage: They often lend up to 75% LTGDV (Loan to Gross Development Value), which is higher than many conservative banks.

  • Cost-to-Complete: They can fund 100% of the build costs, provided the developer puts in the initial equity for the land.

• "Bridge Fusion" (Hybrid):

  • A specific product designed to sit between a bridge and a longer-term loan.

  • It offers a slightly longer term (e.g., up to 24 or 36 months) with a lower rate than a standard bridge, designed for developers who need time to achieve planning permission or stabilise a site before selling.

• Irish & Offshore Lending:

  • Ireland: They have a dedicated Dublin office and are one of the most active alternative lenders in the Irish residential development market.

  • Channel Islands: They are a dominant player in Jersey and Guernsey for local developers and business owners.

Pros and Cons of Sancus

Here is a balanced overview of choosing Sancus for your project.

Pros:

• Offshore Capabilities: If you are buying in Jersey, Guernsey, or Gibraltar, Sancus is one of the very few specialist lenders who can help you. Most UK lenders flatly refuse to lend in these jurisdictions.

• Manual Underwriting: They are experts in "weird" deals - such as complex family trusts, offshore SPVs, or foreign income.

• Large Ticket Loans: They have the capacity to fund multi-million pound developments that smaller boutique lenders cannot afford.

• Ireland Presence: Their physical office in Dublin means they understand the Irish planning system and legal process, which is different from the UK.

Cons:

• Unregulated Only: They do not offer regulated home loans. You cannot use them to save your personal home from repossession or buy a family residence (unless through a complex high-net-worth exemption).

• Cost: As a specialist alternative lender, their rates are higher than high-street banks.

• Minimum Loan Sizes: They generally prefer larger deals (often £500k+). They are not the right lender for a small £80k bridging loan on a terraced house.

Customer Service and Reviews

Sancus is a B2B (Business to Business) lender, so they don't have thousands of Trustpilot reviews like a consumer bank.

• Professional Reputation: In the developer community, they are regarded as "serious" lenders. They are known for having access to deep pools of capital (institutional money), meaning they rarely run out of funds or pull deals at the last minute.

• Service: Borrowers usually deal directly with a "Relationship Manager" who stays with the deal from start to finish.

How to Apply

1. Through a Broker (recommended): For Development and Complex Bridging in the UK, it is best to use a specialist broker who can package the deal.

2. Direct: Because they are relationship-led, they are happy to take direct enquiries, especially for their offshore (Jersey/Guernsey) or Irish offices. You can contact the local office directly to discuss a proposal.

Get started here to begin a free, no-obligation chat with a bridging finance broker who specialises in Sancus’ product range, can compare it against the market for you, and offer independent advice about which deal to choose.