First 4 Bridging (F4B) has reached fully regulated status with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The specialist distributor is looking to expand into other market sectors whilst operating under regulatory guidelines and constant FCA monitoring.

F4B was previously authorised for certain non-mainstream regulated activities, such as bridging loans, development loans and commercial term mortgages. These will remain prominent focal points within the F4B offering but this new regulatory status will allow the specialist distributor to also undertake fully regulated activities such as secured loans, residential mortgages, buy-to-let and raising funds for debt consolidation.

Steve Swyny (pictured), head of sales at F4B, said: “Being fully regulated has always been a goal for F4B. However, in order to achieve this, we had to ensure that we were in the right place as a business to not only tread this complex authorisation path but that we also had the infrastructure in place to build on this and venture into other key areas of specialist finance.

“Our core business will continue to revolve around bridging and development finance but, with more borrowers looking for alternative ways to raise funds for their property-related transactions, we are now in a position to provide a wider range of options for our introducers to help them grow their business and bolster retention levels.”