Somo Integrates with Knowledge Bank to Streamline Bridging Finance Criteria Search

Somo, a Manchester-based specialist bridging lender, has integrated its lending criteria into Knowledge Bank’s search platform. For fintech professionals and mortgage intermediaries, this move digitises the discovery process for complex specialist finance, allowing brokers to match non-standard cases with Somo’s products in real-time rather than manually navigating static lending guides.

What was announced

Somo has officially joined Knowledge Bank, the UK’s primary criteria search platform for mortgage and specialist finance intermediaries. This integration allows brokers to search Somo's specific lending criteria live alongside hundreds of other lenders in the residential, buy-to-let, bridging, and commercial sectors. The platform now hosts Somo’s full suite of specialist products, including classic bridging loans, second charge loans, and homeowner business loans, as well as more niche offerings like third charge loans.

The goal of the partnership is to increase visibility among the thousands of brokers who use the platform to source options for complex cases. By making these criteria searchable in real-time, the integration aims to streamline the placement of specialist debt. Somo’s criteria are already live on the platform and accessible to all Knowledge Bank users. This move is particularly relevant for intermediaries handling "non-standard" circumstances where traditional tick-box lending often fails to provide a solution. Brokers can now verify if a case fits Somo’s specific requirements—which are underpinned by its "360 Promise" approach of assessing each case on its individual merits—without the need for manual trawling of PDF lending guides or direct phone inquiries, facilitating faster decision-making in the fast-paced bridging market.

"Brokers are at the heart of everything we do, and joining Knowledge Bank is another way of making it easier for them to find us and understand where we can help. Having our criteria searchable in real time gives intermediaries another quick and convenient way to identify where a Somo solution could fit, particularly on more complex cases. It’s about making our products and criteria as accessible as possible and continuing to make bridging easier, which is exactly what our brand is built on."

Jade Keval, Chief Operating Officer at Somo.

The companies involved

Somo, founded in Manchester in 2014, is a specialist bridging and business lender that focuses on property-backed finance for landlords and business owners. The firm has established a significant footprint in the UK specialist market, having advanced almost half a billion pounds across more than 1,500 loans. Notably, the company maintains a record of zero losses to investors, a metric it attributes to its "360 Promise" approach, which involves assessing each loan on its individual merits rather than relying on automated scoring. Somo was recently recognised as the Best Regional Bridging Lender at the 2025 Bridging & Commercial Awards.

Knowledge Bank is the UK's leading criteria search platform, designed to help mortgage brokers navigate the increasingly fragmented lending landscape. The platform covers a wide array of sectors, including residential, buy-to-let, bridging, commercial, and equity release. It serves as a central repository where lenders can update their criteria in real-time, ensuring that intermediaries have access to the most current information when advising clients on complex financial products. The platform is used by thousands of brokers to source specialist lending options for their clients.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has followed the expansion of both entities as they seek to digitise the intermediary experience. We recently reported on Victoria Barnard Joins Somo as Head of Networks & Clubs at a Pivotal Moment in the Company’s Continued Growth and Evolution, highlighting the lender's focus on strengthening its ties with broker networks. Knowledge Bank has also been active in enhancing its platform's utility; we covered how Knowledge Bank Turns on Consumer Duty ‘Flag’ for Brokers Doing Criteria Searches to assist with regulatory compliance. Additionally, the platform's role in the wider market was noted when Offa Strengthens Intermediary Visibility with Knowledge Bank, and through the launch of its communication tool, as seen in Knowledge Bank Launches Powerful New Communication Tool - Notify.

What this means

This integration reflects a broader shift in the specialist lending market toward "criteria-led" sourcing. As the UK economic environment creates more complex borrower profiles—ranging from irregular income to non-standard property types—the traditional reliance on price-based sourcing is becoming insufficient. Lenders like Somo are under pressure to ensure their specific risk appetites are visible at the point of search, or risk being overlooked by time-poor brokers. For the wider sector, this move signals that even "common-sense" manual underwriting must now be discoverable through digital platforms. The question remains whether other specialist lenders can maintain their bespoke identity while conforming to the structured data requirements of search aggregators.