GB : Sancus Lending Group Limited - Prioritising a turnaround to profitability

FY21 was a transitional year for Sancus which included senior management changes and repositioning of the business to focus exclusively on residential bridging and development finance, both areas where there is reduced appetite from traditional lenders. The focus is to return to profitability by growing the loans under management whilst establishing robust institutional grade credit processes, smooth loan execution and proactive loan management. The group have invested in expanding their presence in the UK & Ireland and are actively rebuilding the loan book in the Offshore markets. FY21 LBT of £10.3m was in line with guidance and included £6.4m of provisions for potential troubled loans written prior to 2018. Having secured longer term funding at the end of 2020, we believe Sancus can take advantage of the favourable outlook for the housing market and achieve their growth ambitions. We reduce our forecasts and TP to 2.4p (from 3.2p) to reflect the increased investment costs, but with 26% upside to the share price, we upgrade to BUY (from HOLD).