For the ultra-wealthy, navigating the world of high-value mortgages can be a complex, yet essential, strategy for wealth accumulation. Leveraging existing assets to secure future fortunes is a cornerstone of (U)HNW financial planning. Given the intricacy of these financial landscapes, the guidance of a trusted debt adviser becomes invaluable.
Securing high-value loans – typically those exceeding £1 million – can be particularly challenging for clients whose assets are tied up in various funds or who lack traditional income streams. In such cases, an experienced adviser, equipped with strong relationships with private banks and specialist lenders, becomes indispensable. Their expertise allows them to tailor bespoke mortgages that align with their clients’ unique financial situations and long-term aspirations.
UHNW debt advisers generally focus on two primary loan types: mortgages and Lombard loans. However, niche offerings such as Sharia-compliant mortgages and bridging loans are also on the rise. Mortgages are secured against the property itself, while Lombard loans, named after the northern Italian region that pioneered modern banking, are backed by assets like stocks, shares or investment portfolios.
While many advisers specialise in real estate, the most experienced also handle a broader spectrum of luxury assets, including yachts and private jets, often facilitating refinancing solutions in these areas as well. Their expertise extends to more niche financing, such as short-term bridging loans, which provide clients with the liquidity needed to ‘bridge the gap’ between acquiring a new property and liquidating assets to fund it.
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Trends in 2025
Advisers in this year’s index report that securities-based lending is gaining traction among UHNWs. This type of loan allows clients to use financial securities – such as shares or bonds – as collateral. The appeal lies in the fact that these loans do not require clients to liquidate their investments, offering a more flexible way to access cash. Additionally, because the collateral is highly liquid, interest rates tend to be lower than those of traditional loans, making them particularly attractive in today’s market.
Among the experts shaping the landscape of high-value debt is Daire Dowling of Carrig Private Finance, a new addition to the Spear’s index this year. Specialising primarily in real estate, Dowling is also well-versed in advising on marine and aviation assets. His impressive track record includes securing a £57.5 million mortgage for a villa in France, as well as facilitating high-profile deals such as multiple transactions at the iconic One Hyde Park.
Each adviser on our list brings a unique blend of expertise and strategy tailored to the specific needs of UHNW clients. For example, Tristan Dollie, a partner at Brown Rudnick, offers a more holistic approach. Based at the prestigious US law firm, Dollie goes beyond legal matters, helping clients raise capital while guiding them through the legal nuances of complex financial structures.
As high-value lending continues to evolve, navigating its complexities requires expertise and finesse. For UHNW individuals, having a trusted adviser who understands the art of leveraging assets is essential to ensuring long-term financial success while adapting to an ever-changing global landscape.
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- Methodology
- The best debt advisers: some names to know
- The best debt advisers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best debt advisers: some names to know
Alpa Bhakta
- Focus: Mortgages for domestic and international buyers
- Position: CEO
- Firm: Butterfield Mortgages Limited
Butterfield Mortgages Limited CEO Alpa Bhakta has been head of the Butterfield Group’s UK mortgage business since it was established in 2016. Here, she spearheads the strategy for the prime property finance specialist, which supports both domestic and international clients.
Bhakta has more than three decades of experience in finance. She joined Butterfield Private Bank in 2011, heading up the property finance team and then the European lending unit. Before this, Bhakta spent nearly 10 years at NatWest, and moved to BNP Paribas Fortis, where she led a team providing HNWs with property finance solutions.
Read Alpa Bhakta’s full profile at Spears500.com
Sarah Kelly
- Focus: Residential mortgages
- Position: Executive director
- Firm: SPF Private Clients
After more than a decade spent at Coutts, Sarah Kelly decided to swap the world of private banking in favour of lending, becoming a mortgage broker at SPF Private Clients. She explains that ‘borrowing is a choice and not a necessity’ for her clients, who are mainly seeking to enhance their existing investment portfolio through real estate acquisitions.
Often, they require a specialist level of advocacy within the country’s most exclusive private banks, as they do not have traditional income streams. ‘Essentially, I find out as much as possible about my clients and their needs, and then I go to the market and find the best solution for them,’ she tells Spear’s.
Read Sarah Kelly’s full profile at Spears500.com
Jon Urquhart
- Focus: Specialist property lending
- Position: Managing partner
- Firm: GSB Private
GSB Private managing partner Jon Urquhart provides specialist debt advice to clients purchasing luxury assets, including prime London real estate. Founded in 2021, GSB Private is headquartered in Dubai but operates across the Middle East and Europe. For Urquhart, this means regular travel to meet his internationally mobile clients and manage their complex transactions.
‘Around 60 per cent of what I handle is real estate, but I also work in the luxury asset space,’ he explains. When he last spoke with Spear’s he was working on a ‘£14 million yacht refinance’ and a ‘£50 million securities transaction’.
Read Jon Urquhart’s full profile at Spears500.com
Liam Wilkinson
- Focus: International lending
- Position: Founder and CEO
- Firm: Fortier Finance
Liam Wilkinson is the founder and CEO of Fortier Finance, a privately owned, independent mortgage broker based in Nice, France.
Established in 2021 and registered with the French regulator ORIAS, the firm specialises in helping ultra-high-net-worth individuals from the UK and elsewhere purchase prime property and other luxury assets. Wilkinson has been based in the South of France for over a decade and works across Europe – a strong selling point for his internationally mobile client base. The multilingual team is well positioned to guide clients through all financing requests that exceed €1 million.
Read Liam Wilkinson’s full profile at Spears500.com
The best debt advisers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
Contact us
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