Gavin Bennison successfully resists challenge to unregulated status of bridging loan and to rate of default interest
On 30 June 2025 His Honour Judge Monty KC handed down judgment in Principal Bridging Ltd v Lewis (County Court in Central London) following the multi-track trial of a possession claim brought by an unregulated bridging loan lender against a borrower.
Gavin Bennison, instructed by Heleena Gandham of Sidney Mitchell LLP, acted for the successful lender. He resisted all bases of challenge to the enforceability of the loan, including:
- an allegation by the borrower that the lender knew or had reasonable cause to suspect that the loan was for business purposes;
- an argument that the 5% rate of compound interest which became payable upon the borrower’s default was contractual penalty; and
- a counterclaim alleging that the relationship between lender and borrower was unfair for the purposes of sections 140A-140C of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
The Court’s treatment of the penalty argument, at paragraphs 125 to 145 of the judgment, may be of particular interest to practitioners dealing with other cases.
HHJ Monty KC described both counsel as having provided “very effective representation”.
The judgment can be found here.
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