Is Assesr regulated?
Assesr operates in UK unregulated specialist finance markets — the same markets that specialist finance brokers work in. Most of the finance Assesr handles is business-purpose lending that falls outside the Financial Conduct Authority's regulated-mortgage and consumer-credit regimes. Whether any individual transaction is regulated depends on the product and the borrower, not on whether a human or software packages the deal.
We think the honest, useful answer is this: Assesr is a technology platform that packages and places specialist finance. It does not lend money, and it does not give regulated advice. The markets it serves are predominantly unregulated, and that is normal for this kind of finance.
What does "regulated" actually mean here?
In the UK, some lending is regulated by the FCA and some is not. The line is drawn mainly by purpose and borrower type:
- Regulated mortgages generally cover loans secured on a property that the borrower or a close family member lives in. These carry strong consumer protections.
- Consumer credit covers regulated lending to individuals for personal, non-business purposes.
- Unregulated finance covers business-purpose lending — for example, funding a development scheme, a buy-to-let held in a company, or a commercial mortgage.
Specialist finance is overwhelmingly the third category. A developer building flats, a landlord buying through an SPV, or a company raising working capital is doing something commercial, so the transaction typically sits outside the FCA's consumer regimes.
Does unregulated mean unsafe?
No. Unregulated is not a warning label — it is a technical description of which regime a transaction falls under. Business-purpose lending is deliberately treated differently from consumer lending because the parties are commercial and expected to take advice.
Every deal Assesr places is still governed by a legal facility agreement, the lender still conducts full due diligence, valuations and legal work still happen, and you are still free to take independent legal and financial advice — which for larger transactions we would always encourage. The absence of a specific FCA consumer regime does not remove any of that.
Does Assesr give advice?
Assesr packages your deal into a lender-ready credit paper and matches it to specialist lenders by mandate. It structures and presents your deal; it does not provide regulated financial advice, and it is not a substitute for independent legal or tax advice on a specific transaction. Think of it as the packaging-and-placement engine, sitting where a specialist broker would sit — see specialist broker vs going direct for how that role works.
How does Assesr protect the people who use it?
A few things matter regardless of regulatory status:
- Cost transparency. Assesr charges a 0.5% Assesr Fee, payable on drawdown only. It is free to submit and you pay nothing until your deal completes. There are no hidden upfront fees — see how the Assesr fee works.
- Lender protection. Lenders are mandate-matched and contact-protected, with no leakage of their details.
- Broker warranties. Brokers who refer deals sign a Broker Agreement that includes an authority and client-data-consent warranty, so client data is handled with consent.
Frequently asked questions
Is Assesr regulated?
Assesr operates in UK unregulated specialist finance markets, per product line. Most specialist property finance — such as commercial development, buy-to-let via a company, and commercial mortgages — falls outside FCA consumer-credit and regulated-mortgage rules.
What is unregulated finance?
Unregulated finance covers lending that sits outside the FCA's regulated-mortgage and consumer-credit regimes — typically business-purpose lending secured on property or business assets. It is a normal, established part of the UK market.
Does unregulated mean unsafe?
No. Unregulated simply means a transaction falls outside specific FCA consumer-protection regimes because it is business-purpose. Lenders still conduct full due diligence and the deal is governed by a legal facility agreement.