Bricks Finance is a privately-owned finance company based in Exeter. Founded in 2014 by Will Michelmore, Jerry Rihll and Clive Banks, our goal is to provide sensible financing and a better rate of return to our investors.
We specialise in asset-backed business and bridging loans. We help local people to access finance easily and quickly by offering bespoke lending using our own funds as well as those from investors.
Will, Jerry and Clive have over 90 years of property, finance and legal expertise between them. They have each previously built large and successful businesses, and it is their combined knowledge, professional contacts and business experience that allow Bricks to offer attractive rates for borrowers and competitive rates for investors.
Our investors earn returns of between 5% – 7% each year. We support only sensible finance requests and every loan we make is backed by the security of a charge against real property assets.
Today, over 50 other private investors have joined the original lending fund, which was established by our founders. To date, we have lent over £60M to a variety of local businesses and individuals. One-third of our lending is currently funded by our founders and their family members.
We have written loans to support developments across the South West, including local housing (both new build and redevelopment), a forestry retreat with lodges, a care home, a social club, a marina development, farm and barn conversions, a specialist medical home, an adventure park in a quarry, a pioneering natural energy source, solar energy arrays and several large trusts and estates. No two loans are the same, which is why we treat all of our borrowers as individuals. Using our own underwriting process, we ensure complete flexibility in the decisions we make.
We are proud to be different from traditional lending organisations and offer a unique investment opportunity. Please get in touch today to find out why.
News from Bricks
Sep 2021
How To Arrange A Quick Bridging Loan
Arranging a bridging loan can be simple and quick and in this guide we have distilled our many years of experience to help make the…
Aug 2021
Trading Update
During the seven years since our foundation in 2014, we have made over 120 loans and supported over 100 different families and businesses. Our commonsense approach…
Jul 2021
Boost your Savings with Fixed Return of 5% +
With interest rates at historically low levels, traditional deposit accounts from high street banks and building societies now average well below 1%. Is it possible to…
Jun 2021
Bricks Broker of the Year
Bricks Finance Broker of the Year 2020 goes to Simon Sheldrake of South West Business Finance. Presenting the award, Bricks cofounder Will Michelmore said, ‘Our award…
May 2021
Property Developers Short Term Loan Guide
You’ve found the perfect development site and need to source funding. Traditionally you’d ask your bank manager for funds. But what do you do if…
Apr 2021
Refer a Friend
Do you know someone who is looking for funding in the South West and needs between £150,000 and £5,000,000 for between 6 and 36 months?…
Mar 2021
Brokers, Our Unsung Heroes
Brokers are often the unsung heroes when it comes to helping businesses and entrepreneurs secure the right funding for their needs. About 70% of our…
Feb 2021
Bricks Office Opening
Over the past six years we have chosen all sorts of locations for our weekly Bricks meetings: Michelmores Solicitors, Fresha Café, David Lloyd Club, Hampton…
Jan 2021
Benefits of Working with a Broker When Seeking Short Term Finance
With the extinction of our local high street bank manager, who we knew and who knew us, what is the best way to find the…
Dec 2020
Sustained Organic Growth
Our solid 20% organic growth and profitability continues. In December 2020 we lent £1.4M, which was more than our entire first year of trading. Furthermore,…
Nov 2020
Bridging Finance – 3 Simple Steps
If you are not familiar with bridging finance it may seem intimidating but in essence, it is just a short-term loan. We have prepared this…
Oct 2020
Benefits of Collaborating with a Local Lending Company
Founded in 2014, Bricks Finance provides short term lending in the South West of England. The three founders, Will Michelmore, Jerry Rihll and Clive Banks…
Sep 2020
Social Finance Delivers High Returns
The core of our business model is what we call ‘social finance’ say the founders of Bricks Finance, Jerry Rihll, Clive Banks and Will Michelmore.…
Aug 2020
High Returns. Happy Investors.
For investors the Bricks Finance model is proving to be a compelling choice. Indeed, with near zero interest rates from the high street banks and…
Jul 2020
Economic Trends
Bridge to break free Successful deal-making is harder. With so many people working from home and cutbacks in the workforce, deals are taking longer, and…
Jun 2020
Market Update
Our lives have been changed by Covid19 forever and identifying what that means in terms of our business, and the potential consequences to our stakeholders…
May 2020
Tracey, On The ‘Social-Distancing’ Frontline
During the first few weeks of the lockdown, my focus was on contacting our borrowers to ascertain how their projects have been (or were expected…
Apr 2020
Five Years of Record Performance
We reported record loan commitments of £18M in the last financial year and we paid out over £1M in interest to our investors. Being profitable…
Mar 2020
Quick Guide to Later Life Loans
Just because you’ve retired shouldn’t mean you can’t borrow any more. However much you’ve prepared for retirement, you might not have enough for all the…
Feb 2020
How to Use Our Bridging Loan Calculator
Our calculator will help you estimate how much a bridging loan from Bricks Finance will cost. Move the sliders to the amount you wish to…
Jan 2020
Bridging and Development Loans
Around half of our loan book consists of bridging loans. These are temporary loans lasting three to six months, secured on a property or other…
Dec 2019
How to Use Our Investor Calculator
Our calculator will help you estimate how much fixed income you will earn if you lend your money to Bricks Finance. Move the sliders to…
Nov 2019
Market Update
When Jerry, Will, and I started Bricks five years ago, we were responding to a banking industry that paid woeful interest rates on savings and…
Oct 2019
Abbott’s Way – Tracey’s First Three Months
I joined Bricks with a genuine sense of excitement at the opportunity to be part of a successful business that would allow me to do…
Sep 2019
Bricks Finance 5th Birthday Celebration
In November 2014, Clive, Jerry and Will met in Will’s offices in Exeter and agreed to set up a finance company. The name “Bricks” came…
Meet the team
Clive Banks
founder and investor
He has personally launched three start-ups (one in partnership with Coldplay) and invested in ten others. Swapping London for Honiton, he now concentrates his projects closer to home. Committed to funding local projects, Clive concentrates on debt financing and has funded both wind and solar power projects, high-end property development in the private St. George’s Hill estate in Weybridge and, more recently, has redeveloped an estate of eight properties near Exmouth in Devon.
Clive is a trustee of LED Community Leisure, the charity that works in partnership with East Devon and South Somerset councils to provide leisure, health and wellbeing and cultural activities throughout the region. He lives just outside Honiton with his wife Sarah and their four children.
Clive Banks
founder and investor
Will Michelmore
founder and investor
Jerry Rihll
founder and investor
Tracey Abbott
head of lending
Harry Dawson
finance manager
Clive Banks
founder and investor
He has personally launched three start-ups (one in partnership with Coldplay) and invested in ten others. Swapping London for Honiton, he now concentrates his projects closer to home. Committed to funding local projects, Clive concentrates on debt financing and has funded both wind and solar power projects, high-end property development in the private St. George’s Hill estate in Weybridge and, more recently, has redeveloped an estate of eight properties near Exmouth in Devon.
Clive is a trustee of LED Community Leisure, the charity that works in partnership with East Devon and South Somerset councils to provide leisure, health and wellbeing and cultural activities throughout the region. He lives just outside Honiton with his wife Sarah and their four children.
Loan calculator
Loan calculator
Amount you want to borrow
£50,000
£50,000
£5,000,000
Over how many months
3 months
3 Months
36 Months
Total you will pay
£1,500
Amount of interest over 3 months
This calculator is for illustrative purposes only.
We will always treat your personal details with the utmost care and will never sell them to other companies for marketing purposes. All information provided by you will be treated securely and confidentially. For more information view our privacy policy.
Investment calculator
Investment calculator
Amount you want to lend
£50,000
£50,000
£5,000,000
Over how many years
1 year
1 Year
5 Years
Estimated return
£2,500
Amount of interest over 1 year (5% APR)
This calculator is for illustrative purposes only.
We will always treat your personal details with the utmost care and will never sell them to other companies for marketing purposes. All information provided by you will be treated securely and confidentially. For more information view our privacy policy.
See our success stories
See how Bricks has helped businesses grow and provide investor returns.
View all
Bricks Borrower + Bricks Broker = Success
When Geoff and Hazel Bardsley needed a top-up loan to finish their ‘grand designs’ dream home they asked Bricks Finance for help. “We needed to…
Seven Luxury Homes, Newton Abbot
Local tradesmen Sam and Simon started their careers in the building industry and, like many others, did the odd bit of private work for friends…
Tiverton Castle, Rental Portfolio
Angus and Alison Gordon, a local couple who own and live in Tiverton Castle, came to Bricks when they wanted to upgrade and enlarge their student let portfolio.…
Forest Eco Homes, Cornwall
When the man behind an idyllic forest holiday development was struggling to borrow to finance his plan, assistance from Bricks Finance proved to be a…
Two New Homes in Exeter City Centre
Dave Haines and David Chard were experts in building other people’s properties. Their building company has a long-established track record of delivering excellent projects for…
New Homes in Somerset
Jon Evennett, a housebuilder for the past 16 years in the South West, describes his initial contact with Bricks Finance to discuss lending for his…
46 New Homes for Exeter
Seeking to build a development of 46 flats on the site of a former care home on a complicated site in a busy corner of…
Rose & Crown Pub, Dorset
It’s a dream for many people to own their local pub, but it’s not a simple process to buy a freehold. However, thanks to the…
Beach House, Cornwall
Building a dream home is a passion for many, but for Russ Wood it almost feels like his destiny. And thanks to the help of…
Retirement Village, Bristol
Audley Redwood is a retirement village set within 15 acres of landscaped parkland only a short drive from the centre of Bristol. It comprises 106…
National Dive and Activity Centre, Monmouthshire
After serving 20 years in the British Army, REME, Darren Bryce MBE and his wife Kaye developed the National Dive and Activity Centre near Chepstow…
School Conversion, Dawlish
A local architectural consultant who projects managed development in Teignmouth on behalf of a Bricks client has now started his own development in Dawlish with…
3 Luxury Houses, Devon
Beverley Stone-Parker who has 30 years’ experience in construction, funded the land purchase and groundworks for a select development of four 5-bedroom homes herself. These…
7 Holiday Homes, Cornwall
Having gained planning permission to convert their farm shop complex into holiday homes, father and daughter Dennis and Rhalina secured funding from Bricks in October…
8 Apartments, North Devon
After 30 years of funding property developments through his bank, Paul Brinton, a director of East Devon Estates, was shocked when he was refused funding…