23/03/2026 – Firenze Group (“Firenze”) and Third Financial (“Third Financial”), part of the Nucleus Group, have delivered a multi-million-pound Lombard lending facility for the client of a UK-based boutique wealth manager. The facility enabled the borrower to release liquidity from their investment portfolio to strategically aid their estate planning.
The borrower, an Executive of a UK company, held a substantial investment portfolio but sought access to liquidity without selling assets, triggering CGT, or transferring custody. Through the partnership between Firenze, who are providing the lending capability, and Third Financial, as the technology and platform provider the client was able to benefit from a tailored investment-backed loan that is now operational.
This enabled the client to unlock millions of pounds of liquidity, while reducing the value of their estate for intergenerational planning, and retaining their investment holdings, supported by an innovative, integrated digital lending solution.
Traditionally, such investment-backed (“Lombard”) loans have been the preserve of private banking clients. Combining Firenze’s embedded Lombard lending solution, Third Financial’s proprietary, investment platform and bespoke wealth management expertise, this transaction marks a new chapter of financial planning sophistication and accessibility.
Firenze has positioned itself as a pioneer in democratising Lombard lending beyond the exclusivity of private banks and to make such facilities available to clients with portfolios starting significantly below the historical private bank minimums.
Their proposition enables wealth managers and advisers to offer investment-backed loans to clients without moving custody or disrupting investment strategies. Their digital solution enables access to cash in days at competitive rates.
David Newman, CEO of Firenze said:
“Working with Third Financial has enabled us to deliver a truly differentiated liquidity solution. We’re proud to support clients who need intelligent loan solutions and technology partners like Third with whom we can integrate seamlessly, sharing a vision for innovation and providing the market with a holistic wealth management solution.”
Ricky Ali, Commercial Director of Third Financial said:
“We’re thrilled that through our collaborative partnership with Firenze, our proprietary technology has enabled the offering of such a unique solution, allowing clients to plan financially for their future.”
The future - What this means for the market
It is anticipated that this initial flagship facility is the first of many as wealth managers seek to deepen client relationships, provide value beyond investment management and offer innovative planning solutions.
With Firenze’s mission to take Lombard lending out of private-bank exclusivity, and Third Financial’s capability to support digital, client-centric wealth operations, this partnership demonstrates how full-service liquidity and planning solutions can be delivered to sophisticated clients
Thanks to the partnership between Firenze and Third Financial, the door has opened wider for bespoke planning across the intergenerational wealth cycle.
Ends
Notes to editors:
About Nucleus
Nucleus Financial Platforms is one of the UK's leading independent groups for investment platforms, products and wealthtech software.
It’s the only large-scale group with a comprehensive range of bespoke platform solutions to meet the needs of advisory and investment management firms of all sizes.
It operates the Nucleus Platform and Nucleus Wrap retail investment platforms, and through Curtis Banks and Talbot and Muir is one of the UK’s largest administrators of SIPP and SSAS products.
With the wealthtech experience of Third Financial and Dunstan Thomas, Nucleus now powers some of the industry’s leading product providers, advisory firms and consolidators, discretionary investment managers, and institutions, with enterprise-wide, platform software solutions.
Working exclusively in partnership with over 5,300 financial advisory firms, the group now administers over £110bn of investments on behalf of over 251,000 UK customers, seeking to deliver great service and financial outcomes for them, and ultimately help make their retirement more rewarding.
About Firenze
Headquartered in Manchester and founded in 2024 by second-time founder David Newman, Firenze emerged from a collective passion for expanding the reach of financial services. The Firenze team is made up of key senior hires and Non-Executive Directors who have extensive experience across wealth, Lombard lending and working in scaling and ambitious fintechs. Paul Pester serves as Chairman, with a distinguished career including roles as the former CEO of TSB Bank and Virgin Money, and chairing Tandem Bank and the National Bank of Bahrain.
Firenze’s vision stems from the recognition that investment-backed lending, traditionally exclusive to the affluent, can and should be extended to a wider audience. The team firmly believes that leveraging both sides of a personal balance sheet is pivotal to the creation and preservation of wealth and that flexible credit plays a crucial role in either perpetuating or mitigating wealth inequality.
Whilst the company currently focuses on broadening access to mass affluent clients, its vision is to democratise Lombard lending and make it available as a potential credit option for all.