Ashman, the ambitious new entrant bank serving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the commercial real estate sector, has successfully gone live on Mambu. Ashman is currently leveraging Mambu’s cloud banking platform to manage its loan offering to build speedy, personalised service for conscientious property businesses and entrepreneurs in the UK.

Ashman successfully secured its restricted banking licence in June 2022. It aims to support SME borrowers and personal savers alike with access to the right lending and know-how to create sustainable properties and practices in a simple, transparent way. Currently, in the mobilisation phase prior to full regulatory approval, its lending services will include bridging loans, buy-to-let mortgages, commercial mortgages and property development finance ranging from £100,000 to £5 million.

Simon Healy, Chief Operations Officer at Ashman said: “Ashman will enable property entrepreneurs to move fast, win fast, be decisive and go after the opportunities they see. We’ll be entirely digital, focus on delivering speed and personalised service to our intermediary partners and clients. We sought a partner with the technical capability and robust cloud infrastructure to meet the needs we have today. Together with the synergy in people, culture and strategy, we were confident that Mambu could support our growth and evolution in the longer term.”

Over the last five years, almost six in 10 (58%) UK SMEs have been unable to secure any or sufficient funding to cover the needs of their business, on at least one occasion, according to a Mambu report. And the vast majority (93%) would consider switching lenders if a competitor offered a better or improved service. With SMEs increasingly looking for lenders with better digital options, alternative lenders are in ascendancy, and traditional players must innovate to keep up. 

Scott Wilson, Regional VP EMEA at Mambu, said: "In these challenging economic times, Ashman aims to offer a new breed of banking to deliver better solutions for customers and create meaningful change in UK real estate - and at pace. From initiation through onboarding, Ashman was up and running with its initial product setup on the Mambu platform in just a few months. Opting for a cloud-native core with Mambu gives them real flexibility and cost-effective scalability. Ashman has a deep understanding of its customers’ needs and we look forward to helping them build a modern digital bank and offer innovative services for a world-class banking experience for property entrepreneurs.”

Ashman is initially focused on providing fast and personalised lending to property businesses and entrepreneurs in the UK, while providing personal savers with competitive rates. The bank was awarded its UK banking licence (Authorised with Restriction or ‘AWR’) in June, the first banking licence awarded this year, which means it has been authorised and regulated to trade with restrictions by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. The bank is moving towards its launch as quickly as possible, subject to a regulatory timeline and approval.