Hampshire Trust Bank
A PRA-authorised UK specialist challenger bank whose lending is now concentrated in property — development finance, specialist (largely buy-to-let) mortgages and bridging — alongside a wholesale book that funds other lenders.
What they do
Hampshire Trust Bank is a deposit-funded specialist bank lending to UK businesses and property professionals, principally through intermediaries. Its core books are Specialist Mortgages (specialist buy-to-let and semi-commercial, the largest at roughly £2.4bn of loans), Development Finance (residential and commercial development, typically £1m–£15m facilities), Short-Term/Bridging lending, and Wholesale Finance (block discounting and funding lines to other specialist lenders). In October 2024 it closed its direct Asset Finance division (hire purchase, leasing, vehicle and structured asset finance) to new business, citing regulatory-capital allocation, and now supports asset-finance borrowers only indirectly via wholesale funding to other lenders.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
For a 3–15m raise, HTB is a credible counterparty on property alone. Its development finance line falls within the lower-mid-market band and suits SME developers and property investors who need a relationship-led, real-estate-secured facility. Its specialist mortgages serve portfolio landlords and investors on residential and semi-commercial assets. It is best approached through a broker, and works well for borrowers whose financing need is collateralised against UK property rather than against trading cash flow.
Where they are not the fit
HTB is not a fit for a general corporate or sponsor-backed cash-flow raise — it does not provide unitranche, senior term debt against EBITDA, or growth/acquisition leverage for trading businesses. Since the October 2024 closure of its Asset Finance division, it no longer writes direct equipment, vehicle or structured asset finance to end-borrowers; an SME seeking asset finance should look elsewhere (or to one of the lenders HTB funds wholesale). Where the security is operating cash flow rather than real estate, HTB is not the lender.
Published terms
- Pricing
- Not published
- Speed to terms
- Not published
- Sponsored or sponsorless
- Property developers/investors and wholesale (other lenders); not a private-equity sponsor LBO lender
- How they decide
- Relationship-led specialist teams; delegated authority by ticket + committee. Deputy MD appointed. Not publicly detailed
- Covenants
- Springing covenant, tested only when a trigger is hit; Maintenance covenants, tested every period, by facility
- Personal guarantee
- Typically required
- Search funds and ETA
- No published route for search-fund or first-time acquirer borrowers
As published by the lender and last reviewed July 2026. Terms quoted on a deal are set by the credit, not by a published band.
The desks that lend
Hampshire Trust Bank lends through 3 separate books. Which one reads a deal decides the security, the covenant package and the band, so the question is rarely whether Hampshire Trust Bank lends, but which of these would own it.
Development finance
- Facility
- £1m to £35m
- Security
- First charge over property + debenture; GDV/LTC-based
- Covenants
- Springing covenant, tested only when a trigger is hit
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property only; Not operating-company buy-out debt
Commercial mortgages (incl. semi-commercial, BTL/HMO)
- Facility
- up to £35m
- Security
- First charge over property
- Covenants
- Maintenance covenants, tested every period
- Funds
- Acquisition · Refinance
- Rules out
- Property-secured only
Wholesale finance / block discounting (to non-bank lenders)
- Security
- Secured on blocks of client lender agreements/receivables
- Covenants
- A loose covenant package
- Funds
- Growth · Refinance
- Rules out
- Wholesale only - funds other lenders, not direct corporates
Limits that apply across the firm
Stated limits, taken from Hampshire Trust Bank’s own published criteria, beyond the ones each desk carries above. A limit is where a lender starts from, not where it always ends: several of these move on a strong enough credit.
- No appetite in adult, crypto, gambling or weapons
How they sit against the category
- Its published ceiling is £35m; 13 of the 42 challenger and specialist banks here go at least as high.
- Like 24 of the 42, it publishes no indicative price — a margin comes from a conversation, not a page.
- It lends through 3 distinct desks, where most firms here run one or two.
Counted across the 42 challenger & specialist banks in this directory, on what each one publishes. What a lender discloses and what it will do are different things.
Questions this page answers
How large a facility does Hampshire Trust Bank write?
Published facilities run £1m to £35m. A band is what a lender states it will do, not what it will do on a given credit.
Does Hampshire Trust Bank require a personal guarantee?
On Hampshire Trust Bank's published terms, a personal guarantee is typically required. What a lender asks for on a given credit is settled in the documents, not by a published stance.
Does Hampshire Trust Bank lend to search funds or ETA buyers?
Not on the published evidence. Hampshire Trust Bank publishes no route for search-fund or first-time acquirer borrowers. A searcher's route to a lender usually runs through the quality of the target and the equity behind it.
Does Hampshire Trust Bank lend to companies without a private-equity sponsor?
Yes. Hampshire Trust Bank lends to owner-managed and corporate borrowers, and publishes no private-equity sponsor proposition.
What covenants does Hampshire Trust Bank set?
Springing covenant, tested only when a trigger is hit; Maintenance covenants, tested every period, by facility. A covenant package is negotiated on the facility; the published style is where the negotiation starts.
What does Hampshire Trust Bank lend?
The published product set is development finance, commercial mortgages, wholesale finance / block discounting. Published sector focus is non-bank asset finance & consumer-car lenders, fintech, specialist/alternative finance, property development, property investment.
On the record
Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA; Firm Reference Number 204601.
Registered in England and Wales, company number 01311315; registered office 80 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4BY.
In 2024 Group profit after tax rose 21.6% to £51.7m and loans and advances to customers reached £3,392.2m.
The Development Finance book grew to £364.8m (2023: £271.1m) and Wholesale Finance to £347.6m (2023: £291.4m) in 2024; Specialist Mortgages is the largest book at roughly £2.4bn.
Development finance facilities are typically described as ranging between £1m and £15m, on a relationship-based model for SME developers and brokers.
HTB closed its Asset Finance division to new business in October 2024, citing limited surplus regulatory capital; the Asset Finance book ran off to £327.4m (2023: £384.0m). It continues to support asset-finance lenders via wholesale/block discounting.
HTB operates as a specialist bank offering specialist mortgages, development finance, bridging, wholesale finance and savings, distributing largely through intermediaries.
Sources: htb.co.uk · finance-connect.com
This profile is a curated reference note drawn from public sources, not financial advice or a recommendation. Appetite and terms change; a lender's fit for a given credit is established by approaching it, not inferred from a page.