Bridging Soup fires the questions at Mark Dyason, managing director, Gatehouse Capital
Bridging Soup (BS) What drew you to the role at Gatehouse Capital?
Mark Dyason (MD): Having spent more than two decades helping clients navigate increasingly complex property finance markets, I have seen first-hand where traditional lending works well and where it leaves gaps.
My career has always been built around finding practical solutions for clients, whether as a broker, adviser or business owner. Gatehouse Capital presented an opportunity to take that experience and apply that experience.
What particularly appealed to me was the chance to build a business around principles that align closely with my own view of good finance: transparency, clarity and a disciplined approach to risk. The combination of specialist property finance expertise, the strength of the wider Gatehouse group and the opportunity to help expand access to ethical compliant funding made it a compelling proposition.
Bridging has had its challenges recently and the words ethical and bridging need to be synonymous. At this stage of my career, the opportunity to help create a new lender with a clear purpose, strong foundations and significant growth potential was simply too good to ignore.
BS: What is your vision for the business?
MD: Our ambition is straightforward. We want Gatehouse Capital to become one of the UK’s leading providers of Shariah-compliant bridging and specialist property finance while earning a reputation for consistency, professionalism and partnership.
Success is not simply about growing assets. It is about building trust. Brokers need confidence that a firm they and their borrower rely on will do what it says it will do. Borrowers need confidence that they are dealing with a finance provider that understands their objectives and can help them achieve them. Investors need confidence that capital is being deployed responsibly.
Clients are increasingly entrepreneurial, property transactions are becoming more complex and there is growing demand for funding solutions that do not fit neatly into traditional banking models. We believe there is significant opportunity to serve that demand through a proposition built on transparency, speed and certainty.
From a business perspective, our goal is to create a scalable platform capable of supporting substantial growth while maintaining the quality of service and underwriting discipline that bridging requires and I want Gatehouse Capital to be recognised not simply as a successful firm but as a business that helped broaden understanding of ethical, Shariah-compliant finance and demonstrated that responsible financing principles can sit comfortably alongside commercial success.
BS: Why base the business in Edinburgh?
MD: Edinburgh is one of the world’s great financial centres and, for Gatehouse Capital, there was never any doubt that it was the right place to establish our headquarters. It is also the home of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI), one of Scotland’s most significant annual gatherings of financial services leaders, policymakers, academics and innovators.
Edinburgh has long been recognised as a gateway between UK financial services and international capital. Our participation reflects a shared belief that financial services must continue to evolve, balancing commercial success with transparency, inclusion and positive economic impact.
The city combines centuries of financial heritage with a culture of innovation that continues to attract talent, investment and entrepreneurial businesses. Scotland has produced some of the most influential financial institutions in the UK and remains home to a deep pool of expertise across banking, asset management, pensions and professional services.
BS: What makes Gatehouse Capital such a compelling bridging proposition?
MD: There are plenty of providers in the market today, but very few are bringing together specialist property finance expertise with the principles and discipline of Shariah-compliant finance in the way that we are.
What makes Gatehouse Capital different is that our proposition is built around transparency from the outset. Clients and brokers increasingly want certainty. They want to understand how a transaction works, what it costs and what is required to get it completed. We believe that clarity is one of the most valuable things a financier can provide.
Nowhere is that more key than for SME developers, who are key to our policy makers’ desire to build the n houses the UK is crying out for.
Our approach is grounded in real assets and real outcomes. Our Shariah-compliant finance is fundamentally linked to tangible economic activity. It encourages a more disciplined approach to risk and a stronger alignment of interests between all parties involved in a transaction. We compete to complete!
Just as importantly, we have built the business around relationships. Specialist finance remains a people business. Technology can improve efficiency and speed, but success relies on trust, experience and the ability to understand the individual circumstances behind every transaction.
We are entering the market at an important moment. Demand for specialist funding solutions continues to grow while awareness of Shariah-compliant finance is expanding beyond its traditional audience. We see significant opportunity to serve any borrower who values transparency, flexibility and responsible financing.
BS: What aspirations do you have for the market?
MD: My aspiration is to see Shariah-compliant finance become a recognised and established part of the mainstream specialist financing market rather than a niche proposition that many people feel they do not fully understand.
The reality is that the principles underpinning Islamic finance have relevance far beyond a single community. Concepts such as transparency, asset-backed transactions, responsible investment and clarity of outcome are increasingly valued by clients, investors and intermediaries alike. As awareness grows, I believe more people will recognise that these structures can offer attractive solutions for a wide range of funding requirements.
The UK is already one of the leading centres for Islamic finance outside the Middle East and South East Asia, but ultimately, a successful market is one that provides greater choice. If clients have more options, brokers have more solutions and investors have access to well-managed opportunities, then the market as a whole benefits.
BS: What will the market and Gatehouse Capital look like in five years’ time?
MD: Five years from now, I would like to see Gatehouse Capital recognised as one of the leading names in specialist property finance enabling easier access to better value bridging finance.
That success will not simply be measured by business volumes and the number of staff, although we have ambitious growth plans. It will be measured by the quality of the relationships we have built with brokers, clients and investors and by the reputation we have established for consistency, professionalism and delivery.
If, in five years’ time, we have helped broaden access to better value bridging solutions and contributed to the growth of Edinburgh’s financial services sector and built a trusted national financing brand, I would consider that a significant achievement.
