SoMo (South of Mortgages)

SoMo is the trading style of SM1 Capital & Security Limited, a UK specialist bridging and short-term property lender established in 2014 (rebranded from BridgeCrowd in late 2020). The firm reports having underwritten over £500m in loans since inception.

Regulatory status: SM1 Capital & Security Limited is registered on the FCA Financial Register for anti-money-laundering supervision only (FRN 1012061). That AML registration is not equivalent to FCA authorisation for regulated lending or investment activities — the core bridging and investor products are unregulated and not FSCS-protected. FOS jurisdiction is case-specific.

SoMo underwrites short-term loans secured by UK property and offers portions of some loans to private investors via its platform. Loans are secured by a short-term mortgage or legal charge; investors can self-select loan parts or use auto-invest features (the platform recommends careful self-selection).

It is not a pure direct lender-to-investor marketplace: SoMo describes lending its own funds first and then offering loan parts to investors. There is no secondary market — investors generally wait for loan repayment or collateral recovery. Minimum investment is £5,000 per loan, with further increments (typically £2,500) for additional allocations.

Short-term bridging and business loans secured against UK property. Stated loan sizes range from c.£30,000 to £1.5m (with some materials referencing up to £3m), average loan size c.£200,000, terms generally up to 24 months but many repay within 12–13 months.

Borrower fees: £350 lock-in fee (refundable if loan does not complete on the information provided), valuation fee (c.£110 per £100k), arrangement fee from 2%, plus possible early redemption/exit fees (typically one month's interest). Investor returns: historically advertised in the c.10–12% range — indicative, not guaranteed, and not FSCS-protected [unverified].

Aimed at experienced investors comfortable with illiquid, higher-risk, short-term property-backed lending who can commit at least the £5,000 per-loan minimum, self-select loans and perform their own due diligence, and tolerate delayed repayments and limited exit options.

Not suitable for capital-preservation money. The absence of FCA authorisation for the core lending business means standard retail protections (FSCS) do not apply.

SoMo's underwriting scale (£500m+ since 2014), conservative LTV guidance (typically 50–70%) and Trustpilot scores around 4.2/5 are credible positives, and recent trade-press reporting (Apr 2026 record quarter) suggests continued momentum. But two things must not be glossed over: the firm holds AML registration only (FRN 1012061) — not FCA authorisation for regulated lending — and the FCA has separately warned about an unauthorised firm called 'SoMo CREDIT' whose details overlap, causing confusion. FOS has accepted jurisdiction on specific historic complaints involving Social Money / SoMo (fee disputes, term changes, communication delays), and 'no investor losses to date' claims are not independently audited. Confirm the exact legal entity before investing.