About Us
Our History
Broadoak Private Finance was founded by Jamie Bleakley, who has 20 years of experience in arranging bridging and property loans, and Ben Gilbert, a former banker and active property and business lender.
We saw a gap in the bridging loan market for a lender with a commitment to openness and flexibility.
In a market where restrictive lending practices and opaque pricing are too common, we set out to deal with our clients with understanding and an open mind, and to explain clearly and in a straightforward manner what they can expect from us at each step.
How We Work
Broadoak Private Finance is a premier bridging and development lender. We are 100% privately funded and have the freedom and flexibility to evaluate each loan on its own merits instead of being bound by rigid criteria.
We are based in Manchester city centre but cover the whole of England and Wales. Our team has decades of experience in property finance and banking, allowing us to deal with enquiries quickly and flexibly.
Loan application process
1) If you would like a preliminary assessment of your loan request or answers to any initial questions, you can email us at info@broadoakprivatefinance.com or telephone 0161 359 4334.
2) Send details of your enquiry via email.
3) After receiving the enquiry form, we aim to give you a decision in principle within 30 minutes. If your loan request is approved in principle, we will send you a quotation setting out all our terms and charges. If not, we will let you know why not.
4) You provide a full application form, and we carry out all necessary checks. Your solicitors will receive a legal pack from ours, and a property valuation will be instructed. Once the checks and valuation have been completed, we issue you an offer letter.
5) On acceptance of the offer letter, solicitors are instructed to work towards completion. Once legals are completed, funds are transferred to your nominated solicitor.
Call us now: 0161 359 4334
Our Team
Jamie BleakleyManaging Director
Jamie has been in the bridging industry since 2000, he has had experience both in sales and underwriting with one of the first leading bridging companies. He helped grow the loan book of the business to £75 million in a 5 year period when bridging was classed as “ last resort” lending. He also spent 2 years at a leading asset management company which gave him valuable experience in property management and also dealing with distressed assets. He then spent the last 18 months as Head of Funds Distribution, where his role was to ensure the business had enough investors on their platform to ful l the companies lending requirements.
Ben GilbertFunds Distribution
Ben studied at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, before going on to a career in banking at NatWest and RBS. At RBS he founded and headed a team responsible for hundreds of millions of pounds of lending and investment. Since leaving, he has been an active lender in property and business markets, with a particular interest in peer-to-peer lending as a way of making finance fairer and more accessible to all.
Mark TaylorHead of Portfolio Management
Very experienced corporate and commercial lending banker, covering all aspects / roles from business development, relationship management, credit and risk, restructuring and recoveries, up to regional director level, managing large teams with lending exposure of up to £2bn.
Specific lengthy experience in retail (general and automotive), leisure and property sectors. Been directly involved in property lending specialisation for the last 10 years.