Intermediaries – Our Story

Our Story

Masthaven Finance was founded as a specialist property finance lender. Over the following decade, the business achieved substantial growth within the specialist finance market.

Masthaven Finance (Masthaven) was founded in 2005 by Andrew Bloom as a specialist property finance lender. Over the following decade, the business achieved substantial growth within the specialist finance market. In 2011, the company attracted significant investment from the William Pears Group, a high profile investment company, which facilitated its growth and expansion.

Following a two year application process, in April 2016 the company was granted a full UK banking license and became Masthaven Bank. This enabled the business to expand its offerings to include specialist property finance, mortgage lending, and digital retail savings solution. Throughout its development, Masthaven emphasised personalised financial products, allowing customers to tailor savings and mortgage solutions to their specific needs. The bank’s innovative approach and dedication to flexibility positioned it as a notable player among UK challenger banks.

In April 2019, Värde Partners, a global alternative investment firm, made a strategic £60 million equity investment in Masthaven. This investment aimed to buy out existing shareholders and to enhance Masthaven’s capacity to serve UK residential and SME markets, enabling significant growth in lending to consumers and SMEs over the subsequent years.

By April 2022, Masthaven Bank (Masthaven) had originated in excess of £1.4bn of lending, driven by diversified lending across short-term and mortgage finance and opened over 25,000 savings accounts totalling £1.6bn.

These achievements underscore Masthaven’s growth and its impact on the UK’s specialist lending and savings markets.

Throughout its development, Masthaven has emphasised personalised financial products, allowing customers to tailor savings and mortgage solutions to their specific needs. The bank’s innovative approach and dedication to flexibility positioned it as a notable player among UK challenger banks.

Masthaven announced its intention to withdraw from the UK banking market in February 2022. As part of this process the company returned its regulatory licenses and following the sale of the company’s assets to Andrew Bloom, changed its name to Genclose Limited and entered a solvent wind-down. If you were a customer prior to October 2024 and require more information, please take a look at www.genclose.com.