The Intermediary – February 2026 - Flipbook - Page 6
From the editor. . .
t would be remiss of me not to
acknowledge just how unseled the
geopolitical landscape feels as we move
further into 2026 – thanks, in no small
part, to a certain orange man.
In fact, readers would be forgiven for
thinking the year did not begin a mere few weeks
ago. Between ongoing international tensions,
volatile markets, and a news cycle that seems
to compress months’ worth of drama into a
single aernoon, January felt longer than it had
any right to.
For this market, that intensity maers. When
headlines oscillate so sharply (citing optimism
one day, and intense alarm the next) it becomes
harder for businesses, lenders and borrowers
alike to separate truth from the noise.
The mortgage market does not operate in
a vacuum, and while it has shown admirable
resilience thus far, confidence is increasingly
being shaped by the chaos around us. In this
kind of climate, nuance is more important than
ever. Affordability conversations naturally
become even more layered, lender appetite more
conditional, and client needs more complex.
Even as rates continue their gradual thaw, major
decisions are being filtered through a backdrop of
uncertainty that makes ‘one size fits all’ solutions
increasingly inadequate.
That is precisely why this month’s focus on
specialist finance feels so apt. These are the
parts of the market designed to deal with the
imperfect, supporting borrowers with complex
income streams, property types that do not
I
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fit standard criteria, or time-sensitive cases
that demand human judgement rather than
automation. Indeed, in a world that oen insists
on black and white, specialist lending operates
in the grey.
Tailored finance solutions sit at the heart of
this space. For lenders, that means balancing
underwriting flexibility with discipline, and
resisting the temptation to retreat to overly
rigid criteria when wider conditions become
challenging. For brokers, it requires deeper
conversations with clients and the confidence
to guide them through options that are
rarely straightforward.
Throughout this issue, we explore how
specialist finance is responding to these pressures
in practice. From evolving appetite in shortterm lending, to the role of development and
commercial funding in supporting real-world
projects, and the continued relevance of asset
finance in uncertain times, the common thread
is adaptability grounded in experience rather
than reaction.
If the wider world currently feels volatile and
prone to extremes, I hope this issue serves as a
reminder that progress in our market is rarely
found at either end of the spectrum.
More oen than not, it is built case-by-case,
where experience and common-sense still count
for something. I don’t know about you, but right
now, that sense of pragmatism certainly feels
more welcome than ever. ●
Jessica O’Connor
@IntermediaryUK
Contributors
The Team
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SPECIALIST FINANCE
FOCUS ISSUE
INTERVIEW Adam Tyler of
the BDLA discusses market
trends and growth plans
OPINION The latest from
Paragon, Together, Mercantile
Trust, LendInvest and more...
The
Intermediary.
www.theintermediary.co.uk | Issue 37 | February 2026 | £6
Jessica Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor
Jessica O’Connor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deputy Editor
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The Intermediary | February 2026
Aaron Shinwell | Adam Tyler | Alan Fletcher
Alex Alexandrou | Alex Curtis | Alice Harris
Anna Thompson | Asher Kenton | Buster Tolfree
Claire Van der Zant | Craig Hall
Dan Narwhal | Dave Harris | David Castling
David Miller | David Travers | Helen Pierson
James Bloom | James Gillam | James Tuck
James Woodfall | Jeremy Duncombe | Jim Boyd
Jonathan Fowler | Jonny Jones | Joy Abisaab
Julie Meehan | Kate Davies | Laura Thomas
Leanne Ardron | Lee Daffern | Leon Diamond
Lesley White | Lorna Shah | Lottie Dougill
Louisa Ritchie | Manu Dinamani | Martin Temple
Michael Street | Nasar Hussain Neal Moy
Nick Smith | Ollie Popham | Paresh Raja
Pollyanna Puddephat | Rob Stanton
Steve Nobbs | Tanya Elmaz | Tom Worbey
FIX AND FLIP
Unlocking value through specialist finance
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Cover illustration by Barbara Prada
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