West One Loans

West One Loans: specialist property finance from Watford and Manchester

West One Loans is a UK specialist lender focused on property finance, operating through intermediaries and aimed at homeowners, landlords and property professionals. The company was founded in 2002 with the purpose of providing fast, flexible bridging finance, and has since expanded into a broader portfolio that covers the property finance lifecycle. It trades under the West One name for the firms West One Loan Ltd and West One Secured Loans Ltd, both registered in England and Wales with their registered office at The Edward Hyde Building, 38 Clarendon Road, Watford.

According to the company's own presentation, it has grown into one of the UK's largest non-bank lenders, with more than £11 billion lent in total and over £3 billion in assets under management. It reports 323 full-time employees and two offices, in Watford and Manchester.

Product range

The lending portfolio is organised into six main lines, each with its own product guide, calculators or case submission route:

• Bridging Loans
• Development Finance, for ground-up projects and heavy refurbishment
• Commercial Mortgages
• Buy-to-Let Mortgages
• Residential Mortgages, including first-charge lending for first-time buyers, home movers and remortgage customers
• Second Charge Mortgages

The company describes its approach as combining technology with personal underwriting, and presents itself as willing to look at complex cases with nuanced affordability and credit needs. It also publishes criteria search tools, calculators and case studies for intermediaries.

Growth timeline

The company sets out its history in a series of milestones:

• 2002: founded to specialise in fast, flexible bridging finance for property professionals, landlords and homeowners.
• 2014: joins the Enra Group and launches Second Charge mortgages.
• 2018: launches Development Finance for ground-up and heavy refurbishment projects.
• 2019: adds Buy-to-Let mortgages.
• 2022: launches first-charge residential mortgages.
• 2023: reports record lending, with assets under management surpassing £2 billion.
• 2025: introduces Commercial Mortgages; assets under management reach £3 billion and the Manchester office opens.

Ownership and group structure

West One is part of Enra Specialist Finance, a group the company describes as recognised by the FT1000 as one of Europe's fastest-growing property finance and specialist lending groups. Within Enra, West One is the trading name for West One Loan and West One Secured Loans, and the broking company Aria Finance also sits in the business. West One states that joining Enra transformed it from a small privately funded bridging lender into a diverse, institutionally backed specialist mortgage and property finance lender.

Intermediary support and industry memberships

The business is structured around broker and intermediary distribution, with a dedicated sales team covering every region of the UK and a named business development manager (BDM) locator. Intermediaries can submit cases as a directly authorised firm, through a network, club or packager. The site also provides product guides, downloads, calculators, a criteria search and a section aimed at expats and foreign nationals.

The company lists memberships and affiliations across several trade bodies: West One Loan Ltd is a member of The Bridging & Development Lenders Association, the Financial Intermediary & Broker Association and a Patron of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers; West One Secured Loans Ltd is a member of the Finance & Leasing Association and The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association. West One also states it is an Associate Firm within the Society of Mortgage Professionals and commits to its code of ethics.

Regulation and corporate details

Both lending entities are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: West One Loan Ltd under Firm Reference Number 510024 (company registration number 05385677) and West One Secured Loans Ltd under Firm Reference Number 776026 (company registration number 09425230). The registered office for the firms is The Edward Hyde Building, 38 Clarendon Road, Watford, WD17 1JW.