Hope Capital Property Finance Reviews 

Great team, very understanding on timeline, client background etc. amazing to work with as a broker!

I recently completed a transaction with Hope Capital and wanted to share a balanced and honest review based on my experience as a broker.

From the outset, the team were engaged, responsive, and clearly committed to progressing the case. Communication throughout underwriting was consistent, and they demonstrated a willingness to work with a first-time borrower, which is not always easy in the bridging space. That level of openness and accessibility is something I genuinely value in a lender.

What stood out most was their transparency. Where amendments were required, particularly within the legal process, the rationale was explained clearly. In this case, adjustments were needed to ensure the loan term and exit strategy aligned properly, which ultimately reflects responsible lending rather than unnecessary friction. It’s easy to overlook that these controls are there to protect both the borrower and the lender, especially on shorter-term finance where timing is critical.

They also showed flexibility where possible, for example reducing monitoring requirements, which helped manage costs for the borrower. That kind of pragmatic approach is important and doesn’t go unnoticed.

As with many bridging transactions, the legal stage brought some pressure, particularly close to completion. Timelines tightened, and there were moments where coordination between parties could have been smoother. However, this is often the nature of complex, time-sensitive deals involving multiple stakeholders rather than an issue isolated to one side.

Overall, my experience with Hope Capital has been positive. They are a lender that takes their risk management seriously, communicates openly, and remains commercially minded. For brokers and borrowers who understand the importance of clear exit planning and realistic timelines, they are a solid funding partner.

I would have no hesitation in working with them again on the right deal.

We recently made an application with Hope on a property worth approximately 200k via Mallard mortgages who put us together,when Hope came back with a valuation of 115 k and then said they’d offer us the 130k we needed to renovate the property but only if they placed a charge on the freehold this was a big red flag to us we hade 3 more valuations done after this and all came back between 200k and 225 k we knew this was them setting us up to fail in the end do not use Mallard mortgages or hope further more avoid them like the plague ……

I couldn't agree more with the other 1 star reviews. I have never come across a more aggressive or punative lending company. We are still chasing them for around £6,000 in interest fees which they charged us based on us not informing them of our intention to complete despite weeks of negotiation over exactly that!

My experience is that Hope Capital are a truly awful company and would urge anyone thinking of using not to. They are horrible to deal with, punative, unforgiving and rapacious. Many better options out there for bridging finance, for the good of your bank balance and health I would strongly advise against getting involved with this company.

this company are dreadful, I would strongly advise you not to use them, unless you want to go made bankrupt by them. They are extremely aggressive they are looking for ways to take the property they have lent on off you, you can not reason with them. I have been a very successful developer for 15yrs and they are the worst company I have ever worked with. If we were not experienced we would have gone under meeting all their massive hikes in interest for doing nothing. Also I have been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer during this period and they were totally unsympathetic, they just kept apply more pressure and additional stress. The whole process has nearly broken me, luckily we have retained the site, but we have had to pay them a vast amount of additional money to get them out. BE WARNED

Very pleased with Hope Capitals quick delivery to get my loan through the door on time. great experience.

Absolutely shocking company

DO NOT USE!

AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!! this company

I wish I had looked at these Google reviews before working with HOPE capital. They basically agreed to lend me the money to buy the property with the promise that they will switch to a refurbishment loan once the property has been bought. 3 months down the line after I have already completed, paid £6000 in interest fees already and loads of fees such as evaluation fees, QS fees, facility fess solicitor fees; and after they have authorised me to start works and completely build an extension out of my own pocket and fully stripped out the property to a point where I can't get a normal mortgage anymore, HOPE has turned round and told me they won't be going forward with the loan anymore. Even worse, they have gone and said my loan is in default because I stripped out the chimney during stripout (which was not specified that I couldn't do, as it was not specified what level of strip out i was aloud to do) therefore I assumed taking back to brick and removing the chimney is considered as stripout as that's what was in mine and builders contract.

For the whole 3 months since exchanging they took long to respond to emails, kept asking for irrelevant information, basically dragging thier feet cause they had no intentions to switch over to the new loan, but instead milk as much money out of me before they can acuse me of being in default. When they finally said that they couldn't give me the loan, their excuse was, "you said you were going to carry on renovation without planning before planning for change of use is approved" which I did not say ofcause and there's no proof of me saying this. But even if I did, what's wrong with me spending my money to add value to the property?

Cutting long story short, basically they have gone into this deal with no intentions of switching to a refurbishment loan, but instead to milk as much out of me by paying interest, get me to spend money on thier solicitors, QS and evaluation companies, and then refuse to give me the loan. I wouldn't be surprised if they own these third party companies or are working with them on a commission basis for every client they bring.

Now the case has been passed on to thier solicitor for them to charge me more money on the fact that they are claiming the loan has gone into default. They are choosing to do this instead of continue with the loan as the said they would. The valuation report had different valuations, which one of them required no planning and the GDV value was enough to pay off the loan once renovation would be completed, but they have refused to go with this and also refused to wait for planning to be accepted. All because there was no clear discreption into what level of stripout was allowed, and the lied they made up that I said I would continue with the works without thier approval.

Don't go with this company out of desperation just cause you need funding urgently. No deal is better than a bad deal. You will end up losing money and your project will not be completed.

STAY WELL CLEAR OF HOPE CAPITAL!!
I have also experienced the same as Chenglong Lu, I'm now with solicitors regarding the matter but I would like to connect with you Chenglong Lu to see if we can chat about our experiences with hope capital.
I also have the ASTL (association of small term lenders) condemning the practices of hope capital.
Hope capital did everything they could to try and force myself into default, lying and moving the goal posts each and every time.
I'm happy to chat with anyone regarding this should it help take hope capital to court.

AVOID AVOID AVOID - Unreasonable Default charges

Hope Capital could not release the land registry documents in time, the transaction could not be completed on 14th May 2022. However, Hope Capital released the land registry documents on 12th May 2022. It was impossible for my solicitors to complete the transaction by 14th May 2022. Thus, the deadline date for completion failed.

Then Hope Capital have charged a default fee of £4,920.00 and default interest of 1 month at 2.94% which calculates to £3,616.20. and further interest will accrue until the transaction is complete because of lack of progress, delay by Hope Capital.

I instructed a financial dispute solicitor to send formal email to require the terms of business which stipulates such a default charge and interest to be charged as above and there was no response.

Hope Capital try to find reasons to charge interest default, Most likely they make money from default charge more than lending money .

Dealt with Mike Watson from Hope Capital who arranged a bridging finance loan for me. Thoroughly professional and very efficient in every step of the process. Will definitely use these guys again.