United Trust Bank
A long-established, deposit-funded UK specialist bank that lends against property and hard assets across bridging, development, structured property finance and asset finance.
What they do
United Trust Bank (UTB) is a privately owned, PRA/FCA-authorised specialist bank funded by retail and SME deposits. Its lending is organised into discrete divisions: asset finance (hire purchase and lease against plant, vehicles, machinery and agricultural equipment), bridging finance, property development finance, structured property finance, and specialist mortgages. The common thread is security: UTB lends against tangible collateral — property or chattels — rather than on an unsecured cash-flow basis. Its structured property finance team writes bespoke, multi-million-pound facilities for site acquisition, planning-gain, portfolio restructuring, refinancing and capital release, serving corporate, trust, SPV and high-net-worth borrowers including offshore and complex ownership structures.
Where they fit in a lower-mid-market raise
UTB is a credible counterparty for a 3–15m raise when the borrowing is property-secured or asset-secured. Its structured property finance (single facilities seen up to roughly £10m, with larger bespoke and development tickets to £35m) and development finance (broadly £2.5m-£35m) both sit in this range, and it is genuinely flexible on borrower structure: SPVs, trusts, offshore holders, mixed portfolios. For a CFO funding a property acquisition, a developer exit, a BTR stabilisation, a refinance/capital release against an asset base, or a sizeable plant/fleet purchase, UTB is a well-rated, deliverable specialist bank with a long record and deposit funding behind it.
Where they are not the fit
UTB is not a cash-flow or sponsor lender. It does not provide unsecured or lightly-secured working-capital facilities, unitranche, mezzanine on EBITDA multiples, or acquisition/LBO debt underwritten on enterprise value rather than collateral. A services or technology business with strong recurring revenue but few hard assets will not find its profile here — the security has to be real property or financeable chattels. Standalone asset-finance tickets are typically modest (c. £10k-£1m, larger only for strong covenants), so the 3–15m band with UTB almost always means a property-backed structured or development facility rather than equipment finance.
On the record
United Trust Bank Limited is registered at Companies House under company number 00549690, incorporated 23 May 1955, status active, registered office 28th Floor, One Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9AW (SIC 64191, Banks).
UTB is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA; FCA Firm Reference Number 204463.
UTB operates dedicated divisions in asset finance, bridging, development finance, specialist mortgages and structured property finance, providing secured funding to individuals, businesses and charities.
UTB's Structured Property Finance team provides bespoke multi-million-pound solutions for site acquisition, planning-gain, portfolio restructuring, refinancing and capital release, secured against residential, commercial, mixed-use and land assets, for corporate, trust, SPV and high-net-worth borrowers including complex/offshore structures.
UTB Structured Property Finance has launched facilities up to £10m on Commercial Bridging or Commercial Investment loans at up to 75% LTV on commercial/mixed-use property.
Recent structured property finance transactions include a £6.35m structured refinance/developer-exit for an £8.5m BTR scheme and a £5m commercial bridging loan on an £8.4m commercial property in Reading.
UTB development finance delivers bespoke funding broadly from £2.5m to £35m across residential, commercial and mixed-use schemes, with commitments of around £1.5bn supporting over 4,000 new homes at any one time.
UTB provided a £35m stabilisation loan for a £56m build-to-rent conversion scheme by Gold Wynn.
UTB asset finance deal sizes typically range from £10,000 to £1m (with larger transactions considered for strong covenants), financing assets such as plant, engineering machinery, agricultural equipment and prestige vehicles; a recent example was a £900,000 facility to a plant-hire firm.
UTB bridging finance is offered from £100k to £15m at up to 75% LTV against residential, HMO, mixed-use and (case-by-case) commercial property and land with planning.
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.