How Assesr compares to every alternative.
An honest, side-by-side comparison of every UK development finance platform — features, pricing, speed, and lender access. See why developers and lenders choose Assesr.
The old way
Find a broker
1–2 weeksResearch, shortlist, initial meetings
Provide documents
1–2 weeksEmails, chasing, back-and-forth
Broker writes credit paper
2–6 weeksManual analysis, no standard format
Broker contacts their lenders
2–4 weeksLimited to 10–30 in their network
Receive offers (maybe)
Pay 1–2% whether deal completes or not
With Assesr
Upload your documents
2 minutesPDFs, images, spreadsheets — drag and drop
AI generates credit paper
60 seconds10-section analysis with sourced figures & risk grading
Matched to 50+ lenders
InstantMandate-matched, pre-filtered for your deal
Receive lender offers
~4.2 hoursStructured responses within a fixed timeline
Pay only on success
0.5% on drawdown — nothing if deal falls through
60 seconds
Credit paper generation
vs 2–6 weeks manually
0.5%
Fee on drawdown
vs 1–2% traditional broker
4.2 hours
Average lender response
vs 6–12 weeks traditional
50+
Specialist lenders
vs 10–30 broker network
10 sections
Standardised credit paper
vs inconsistent broker packs
100%
Free until drawdown
vs upfront subscriptions
The fundamental difference
Other platforms help you find lenders.
Assesr helps you win them.
Brickflow compares rates. Broka matches criteria. Knowledge Bank searches policies. DealLocker connects investors. Propp negotiates manually. But none of them produce the document that actually gets your deal approved. Assesr generates an institutional-grade credit paper — the same 10-section analysis a top-tier broker would spend weeks writing — in 60 seconds.
Comparison platforms
Brickflow · Broka · Knowledge Bank · Propp
Search and filter lenders by criteria, rates, or product features. You still need to write the credit paper, structure the deal, and submit manually.
What you get
A list of matching lenders
Traditional brokers
Finbri · Magnet Capital · local firms
A human writes the credit paper, draws on their lender relationships, and handles the process. Quality and speed depend entirely on the individual broker.
What you get
A broker pack (2–6 weeks, 1–2% fee)
Assesr
AI-powered marketplace
Upload your documents. AI extracts, analyses, and generates a 10-section credit paper with sourced figures, risk grading, and sensitivity analysis. Matched to 50+ lenders instantly.
What you get
Credit paper + matched lender offers (hours, 0.5%)
Feature-by-feature
The complete comparison.
Every feature, every platform, every detail. Click any category to expand or collapse.
| Feature | Assesr | Brickflow | Broka | DealLocker | Propp | Knowledge Bank | Traditional broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI-powered credit paper generation | |||||||
| Automated document extraction (PDF, images, spreadsheets) | |||||||
| 10-section standardised credit paper output | |||||||
| Sensitivity analysis & stress testing | |||||||
| Risk grading (A–E scale) | |||||||
| Comparable £/sqft benchmarking | Manual input | Manual | |||||
| Companies House integration | Manual | ||||||
| Planning data parsing | Manual | ||||||
| Number of lenders | 50+ (dev finance only) | 150+ (all types) | 243 (all types) | N/A (investors) | Panel (all types) | 260+ (all types) | Varies |
| Automated lender matching | Rate comparison | ||||||
| Mandate-matched filtering | Rate comparison | Criteria match | Rate comparison | Criteria only | |||
| Live rate comparison | Via real offers | ||||||
| Decision in Principle speed | Hours (real DIP) | 7 minutes | Seconds (criteria only) | N/A | Next working day | Seconds (criteria only) | Days–weeks |
| Average lender response time | 4.2 hours | Varies | Varies | N/A | Next working day | N/A | Days–weeks |
| Lenders receive structured credit papers | |||||||
| Borrowers can submit directly | Browse only | List deals | Via enquiry | Enquiry only | |||
| No broker required | Equity only | ||||||
| Free deal submission | Free to browse | Free to compare | Free enquiry | ||||
| Guided intake wizard | |||||||
| Real-time missing-info flagging | |||||||
| Editable at any stage | |||||||
| Free for lenders | N/A | Commission-based | Paid listing | N/A | |||
| Standardised deal format | |||||||
| Pre-filtered by mandate | Criteria match | ||||||
| Webhook integration | |||||||
| Fixed response timeline | |||||||
| Referral programme | Informal | ||||||
| Tiered commission (0.10–0.18%) | |||||||
| Automatic Stripe payouts | |||||||
| Branded referral pages | |||||||
| Live deal tracking dashboard | |||||||
| Cost to borrowers | 0.5% (on success only) | Free (browse only) | N/A | N/A | £500–1.5% broker fee | N/A | 1–2% broker fee |
| Cost to lenders | Free | Paid | Free | N/A | Commission from lenders | Paid listing | N/A |
| No upfront cost | |||||||
| Pay only on success (drawdown) | Varies | Varies | |||||
| No subscription required | |||||||
| Credit paper generation time | 60 seconds | N/A | N/A | N/A | Manual (broker writes) | N/A | 2–6 weeks |
| Time from submission to lender offers | Hours (real offers) | Minutes (rates only) | Seconds (criteria only) | N/A | Next working day | Seconds (criteria only) | 6–12 weeks |
| Automated data extraction | |||||||
| Manual data entry required | Minimal | Full | Full | Full | Partial | Full | Full |
Deep dives
Assesr vs each competitor.
Click any competitor to see a detailed breakdown of strengths, limitations, and exactly how Assesr compares.
Brickflow
Digital comparison marketplace for specialist property finance
Brickflow's strengths
- Most established platform in this niche with 7,000+ property investors
- Transparent pricing published on website
- Strong deal modelling capabilities beyond rate comparison
- Free borrower-facing tool for lead generation
- Enterprise and API options for larger firms
- Smart Appraisal — one appraisal, multiple lender applications
Brickflow's limitations
- Borrowers cannot apply directly — must go through a broker
- Monthly subscription even for solo brokers creates a cost barrier
- No credit paper generation — brokers still produce their own packs
- Commission from lenders may create alignment questions
- Manual data entry required for every deal
- No document extraction or AI analysis capabilities
How Assesr is different
- Assesr generates the actual credit paper that wins lender approvals — Brickflow only compares rates
- Borrowers submit directly on Assesr without needing a broker intermediary
- 0.5% on drawdown vs £32–180/mo subscription — you pay nothing unless the deal completes
- AI extracts data from your uploaded documents — no manual entry required
- Every credit paper includes sensitivity analysis, risk grading, and sourced figures
- Lenders receive standardised 10-section papers instead of varied broker packs
Broka
Commercial loan sourcing and business management for private real estate finance
Broka's strengths
- Largest lender panel in the specialist space (243 lenders, 1,000 products)
- Covers niche asset classes other platforms miss (petrol stations, caravan parks)
- Combines sourcing with case management
- NACFB partnership adds industry credibility
- Growing fast — 200m+ in enquiries during beta
- Searches 30,000+ product combinations in seconds
Broka's limitations
- Broker-only — no direct borrower access whatsoever
- No public pricing transparency — requires sales call
- No credit paper generation — brokers still write their own
- Relatively new (launched mid-2025) — still proving itself
- No AI analysis or document extraction
- Website is poorly optimised for search and content discovery
How Assesr is different
- Assesr produces the credit paper, not just the lender match — saving brokers hours of underwriting work
- Borrowers can submit directly for free on Assesr — Broka is broker-only
- AI document extraction means less manual data entry and fewer errors
- Assesr's 50+ specialist dev finance lenders receive mandate-matched, pre-analysed papers — quality over quantity
- Pay-on-success pricing vs hidden monthly subscriptions
- Lenders get standardised credit papers with sourced figures, not raw enquiry data
DealLocker
Real estate investment marketplace connecting private capital with deal providers
DealLocker's strengths
- Connects developers directly with private investors and family offices for equity and mezzanine
- CRM and portfolio management included (contacts, documents, KYC)
- AI deal summaries for quick investor review
- Covers equity joint ventures and second charge financing
- Electronic NDA system protects deal confidentiality
- Capital calculator for modelling equity/profit-sharing scenarios
DealLocker's limitations
- Monthly subscription of £70/user before you can do anything — you pay whether deals close or not
- Enterprise CRM costs £350/month on top of Premium subscriptions
- Transaction fees of 1–3.5% are charged on completed deals in addition to the subscription
- Not FCA regulated — investments are unregulated with no FSCS protection
- Very new company (incorporated April 2024) with minimal independent reviews
- Does not source senior development finance — focused on equity and mezzanine only
- No credit paper generation or automated document extraction
- Small team (2 directors) — limited support infrastructure
How Assesr is different
- Assesr has no subscription — £0 until your deal draws down, vs £70/month just to access DealLocker
- Assesr generates institutional-grade credit papers; DealLocker only produces basic deal summaries
- Assesr matches to 50+ specialist senior development finance lenders — DealLocker connects with private investors for equity/mezzanine
- 0.5% on drawdown vs £70/month + 1–3.5% transaction fees — significantly cheaper total cost
- AI document extraction means no manual data entry on Assesr — DealLocker requires full manual input
- Assesr provides sensitivity analysis, risk grading, and sourced comparable data — DealLocker does not
Knowledge Bank
The UK's largest mortgage criteria search system
Knowledge Bank's strengths
- Broadest coverage — 8 lending areas, not just development finance
- 140,000+ individual criteria from 260+ lenders
- Extremely affordable at £20/month
- FCA Evidence of Research compliance document generator
- Lender-maintained data means criteria are always current
- AI-powered natural language search (KB Assist)
Knowledge Bank's limitations
- Criteria search only — no deal modelling, no applications, no case management
- Doesn't show rates or pricing — only whether a lender will accept the case
- Less depth on development finance than specialist platforms
- No borrower-facing element at all
- No credit paper or document generation
- Primarily a research tool, not a transaction platform
How Assesr is different
- Assesr is an end-to-end marketplace — from document upload to lender offer — not just a search tool
- AI generates institutional-grade credit papers from uploaded documents
- Borrowers submit directly; Knowledge Bank is broker-only research
- Assesr shows matched lenders with reasons, not just criteria pass/fail
- Pay-on-success vs monthly subscription
- Specifically built for development finance, not generalised across all mortgage types
Propp
FCA-authorised property finance comparison and brokerage platform
Propp's strengths
- FCA-authorised credit broker (FCA 914408) — regulated and compliant
- Covers 6 product types: bridging, development finance, commercial mortgages, BTL, auction, secured loans
- Free Hometrack property valuations included (normally £40 each)
- Deal Optimiser gets lenders competing for bespoke quotes within 1 working day
- Strong educational content (Propp IQ) with guides, webinars, and case studies
- Claims average savings of £10,475 per deal vs published rates
- 60+ years combined founder experience across finance, tech, and property
Propp's limitations
- No AI features — no document extraction, credit paper generation, or automated analysis
- Broker-led process behind the comparison tool — a human still writes the proposal and negotiates
- Broker fees of £500 to 1.5% of loan charged on top of the free comparison tool
- No B2B tools for other brokers — Propp is the broker, not a broker tool
- Scaling requires hiring more brokers (currently ~500 clients/year on £100M lending)
- No standardised credit paper output — varies by broker handling the deal
- Deal Optimiser is manual distribution to panel, not algorithmic matching
How Assesr is different
- Assesr generates the credit paper automatically in 60 seconds — Propp relies on human brokers to write proposals manually
- AI extracts data from uploaded documents — no manual data entry, unlike Propp's broker-led intake
- 0.5% on drawdown only vs Propp's £500–1.5% broker fee — lower cost, pay only on success
- Borrowers submit and get matched to 50+ specialist lenders without a broker intermediary
- Every lender receives a standardised 10-section credit paper with sourced figures and risk grading
- Sensitivity analysis and stress testing included automatically — Propp has no equivalent
Traditional broker
Specialist development finance intermediaries (e.g. Finbri, local brokers)
Traditional broker's strengths
- Personal relationship and bespoke advice
- Can handle complex, non-standard deals
- May have exclusive lender relationships
- Face-to-face meetings and ongoing support
- Deep market knowledge and negotiation skills
- Can guide first-time developers through the process
Traditional broker's limitations
- Expensive — 1–2% broker fees on every deal
- Slow — 6–12 weeks from enquiry to offer
- Limited lender panel (restricted to broker's network)
- Quality varies hugely between brokers
- Manual process — broker writes credit paper by hand
- No standardisation — each pack is different, making lender review harder
- Single point of failure if broker is unavailable
How Assesr is different
- 0.5% on drawdown vs 1–2% broker fee — save 50% or more
- Hours not weeks — AI generates credit papers in 60 seconds
- 50+ specialist lenders vs a broker's personal network of 10–30
- Standardised 10-section credit paper with sourced figures and risk grading
- Every datapoint traced back to the original document — nothing invented
Total cost of ownership
What you actually pay.
On a typical £3M development finance deal, here's what each option costs.
Traditional broker
£30k–£60k
1–2% broker fee
+ 6–12 weeks waiting
+ limited to broker's network
+ pay whether deal completes or not (varies)
Brickflow
£384–£2,160
£32–180/mo subscription
+ still need a broker to apply
+ broker fee on top (1–2%)
+ pay monthly whether deals close or not
Broka
???
Pricing not public
+ requires sales demo to learn price
+ broker-only (no borrower access)
+ monthly subscription regardless of deals
DealLocker
£840+
£70/mo subscription + transaction fees
+ 1–3.5% transaction fee on completed deals
+ Enterprise CRM costs £350/mo extra
+ pay subscription whether deals close or not
Propp
£15k–£45k
£500–1.5% broker fee
+ free to compare rates
+ broker writes proposal manually
+ no AI analysis or credit paper
Assesr
£15,000
0.5% on drawdown only
£0 until deal completes
No subscription
50% cheaper than brokers
Credit paper included
On a £3M deal, Assesr saves you £15,000–£45,000 compared to a traditional broker.
And you get a better product — AI-generated credit papers, 50+ lenders, hours not weeks.
True total cost on a £3M deal
Platform fees plus broker and transaction fees many platforms don't show upfront.
* Brickflow requires a separate broker to apply — their platform fee is on top of the broker's 1–2% commission. Propp charges broker fees of £500–1.5%. Broka excluded (pricing not public).
Time to first lender offer
Speed kills — in the good way.
With Assesr, your documents go in and a lender-ready credit paper comes out in 60 seconds. Lenders respond in an average of 4.2 hours. The entire process — from document upload to lender offer — takes hours, not months.
FAQ
Common questions about switching to Assesr
Assesr focuses on specialist development finance lenders — the ones who actually fund ground-up construction and heavy refurbishment. Brickflow and Broka count bridging, commercial mortgages, buy-to-let, and other products in their totals. When you filter for development finance specifically, the panels are much closer in size. More importantly, Assesr doesn't just match lenders — it sends them a pre-analysed, standardised credit paper. A mandate-matched credit paper to 8 lenders outperforms a raw enquiry to 50.
Propp is an FCA-authorised credit broker with a rate comparison tool — you browse rates for free, then Propp's Deal Optimiser sends your deal to their lender panel and a human broker negotiates on your behalf. They charge broker fees of £500–1.5% of the loan amount. Assesr is an AI-powered marketplace — you upload documents, the AI generates a 10-section credit paper in 60 seconds, and it's matched to 50+ specialist lenders automatically. No broker intermediary, no manual proposal writing, and you pay 0.5% on drawdown only. Propp is essentially a traditional brokerage with a comparison website; Assesr is a technology platform that replaces the manual broker process entirely.
DealLocker is an investment marketplace — it connects property developers with private investors for equity joint ventures and mezzanine finance. It does not source senior development finance from institutional lenders. Assesr is a development finance marketplace that generates AI credit papers and matches deals to 50+ specialist lenders. DealLocker charges £70/month per user plus 1–3.5% transaction fees; Assesr charges nothing until your deal draws down (0.5%). If you need senior development finance, Assesr is the tool. If you're looking specifically for equity co-investors, DealLocker serves a different need.
Development finance is exempt from FCA regulation under the RAO (Regulated Activities Order) as it constitutes commercial lending. Assesr operates as a marketplace connecting borrowers with specialist lenders — we do not provide regulated advice. If you need regulated mortgage advice, your existing broker can still use Assesr as a technology tool alongside their regulated services.
You pay nothing. Assesr charges 0.5% on drawdown only — meaning the fee is only payable when your deal actually completes and you draw down funds from the lender. If the deal falls through for any reason, there is no charge. No subscription, no failure fee, no hidden costs.
Assesr's credit papers follow the same 10-section structure used by institutional lenders. Every figure is sourced back to the original document — nothing is invented. The paper includes sensitivity analysis, risk grading, and comparable benchmarking that many broker packs lack entirely. The difference is speed (60 seconds vs 2–6 weeks) and consistency (every paper follows the same format, making lender review faster).
Lenders tell us they appreciate the standardised format. Instead of receiving wildly different broker packs in varying formats, every Assesr submission arrives as a structured 10-section credit paper with sourced figures, risk grading, and sensitivity analysis. This makes initial review faster and comparison between deals easier. Average lender response time on Assesr submissions is 4.2 hours.
Ready to see the difference?
Submit your first deal for free. Get an AI-generated credit paper and matched lender offers in hours, not weeks. No subscription, no upfront cost — pay 0.5% on drawdown only.
Know someone who needs development finance?
Get paid thousands for introductions you already make for free. Earn £1,000+ per referral. Free to join.
Built for every side of the deal
One platform. Three ways to win.
Whether you're raising, advising, or lending — Assesr gives you the edge.