Roma Finance celebrates 15 years in lending

14 June 2024

Roma Finance, the bridging and development specialist that loves to lend, is celebrating its 15th year in business and has set ambitious growth targets for the next 24 months.

Established in 2008 by managing director Scott Marshall, and named after his grandparents Rose and Max, Roma has flourished over the years going from a one-man band to a team of 50 working from its head office in Manchester as well as having 10 ‘on the road’ staff working remotely to manage customer relationships across England, Scotland and Wales.

Roma’s first funding deal was a second charge for £75,000, and since then the loan book has grown exponentially thanks to 10 funding lines including the likes of Shawbrook, Paragon, The Cambridge Building Society, British Business Bank and Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Working alongside Roma, its customers have been able to finance the development of over 1,000 new homes including some interesting refurbishment projects which have seen dog kennels, hotels and retail banks transformed into stylish dwellings.

With Roma’s dedication to putting borrowers first, they have experienced multiple, back-to-back recording breaking months with huge levels of repeat business. The business has set its sights on further growth and aggressive targets for the coming years. The aim is to double its loan book by 2026 and continue to provide education and support to partners and borrowers to provide the best possible outcomes. This will be achieved by further investing in colleagues and technology.

Scott said: “Roma’s first loan was secured by releasing equity on my family home, so there was real pressure for it to be a success and for the money to be repaid. Thankfully it was, and over the years Roma has been able to support thousands of independent landlords, and small and medium sized house builders to realise their property development dreams. Most importantly though, and one of the things I am most proud of, is that in our whole 15-year history we have never lost a penny – our default remains at less than 1% and our redemption rate is second to none.

“The residential property investment market is a dynamic and hugely exciting one to be involved in. We are seeing record levels of demand for new housing across the whole of the UK and we are pleased to be in a strong position to provide financial support for those looking to start their first project as a private landlord or to develop out pockets of land for multiple units.”