OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has provided an initial £25m loan to Blue Shield Capital, a property lending firm committed to simplifying bridge lending.
Launched in 2020, by co-founders Gil Ulrich and Jonathan Hitter, Blue Shield primarily underwrites senior bridging loans “backed by UK real estate, with a focus on prime UK cities and secondary suburban locations.”
Gil has extensive experience, “encompassing the successful management of large-scale projects, ranging from technology initiatives to international investments whilst Jonathan has a background in real estate finance most notably in the non-performing loan space.”
They were joined in 2023 by Stephen Benson as a Partner. Stephen has “nearly three decades of real estate experience, including establishing a pan-European asset and investment management business and acquiring a portfolio exceeding €5 billion in loans across diverse global regions.”
Led by Gil, Jonathan and Stephen, the team at Blue Shield “are highly experienced and follow stringent and detailed credit, underwriting, KYC, and portfolio monitoring policies.”
The combination of its excellent management team and strong credit track record “across a variety of loans, attracted investment from the renowned Wynn Group, who became a major shareholder in Blue Shield, last year.”
Gil Ulrich, co-founder and CEO of Blue Shield Capital, commented:
“At Blue Shield, we have established new benchmarks in customer satisfaction within a short period, driven by our quick turnaround, creative mindset, borrower-centric, and transaction-oriented approach. These are all traits shared by the team at OakNorth who provided us with a bespoke debt finance solution, quickly. With their financial backing, we’ll be able to fund new real estate bridging loans at speed, while providing the necessary flexibility to meet our customers’ financial demands.”
Mohith Sondhi, Senior Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth, continued:
“Gil, Jonathan, and Stephen have a wealth of experience in the UK real estate sector. In just a few years, they’ve grown Blue Shield Capital into a trusted brand with an expanding portfolio and a loyal customer base, enabling the business to attract investment from one of the most respected players in the industry – the Wynn Group. Given the breadth of areas Blue Shield covers – from residential, commercial, retail, and industrial, to light refurbishment, bridge-to-let, and land – its growth potential is significant. With backing from OakNorth, it has the financial firepower to go after even more bridging loan opportunities and support even more customers.”
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, empowering “scale-up businesses (£1m-£100m turnover) to support growth, prosperity, and innovation for the benefit of all.”
