Welcome to Lender Lens, our series for profiling leaders in the Lender community.
With private credit playing an increasingly important role in the financial system, we wanted to find out how lenders are navigating the evolving landscape and how they assess the market in the coming years.
Dealmaking has become more complex in today’s market — and private credit is adapting.
In this edition of Lender Lens, we speak with Mohith Sondhi, Managing Director, Debt Finance at OakNorth, about the evolution of lower mid-market lending and the opportunities emerging as the platform scales internationally. Drawing on his experience across both the UK and US, Mohith shares how borrower expectations are shifting, why speed and transparency are now table stakes, and where lenders can still differentiate in an increasingly competitive landscape.
He also reflects on the growing role of NAV lending within fund finance, emphasising the importance of disciplined underwriting and long-term alignment. Across the conversation, a consistent theme emerges: balancing flexibility with rigour, whether structuring complex transactions, entering new markets, or navigating different points in the cycle.
OakNorth has built a strong reputation… how are you thinking about evolving that positioning as you scale internationally?
OakNorth was founded in 2015 as the bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, with a very clear mission: to address the persistent funding gap facing lower mid-market businesses. These are companies that contribute a significant share of economic output, yet have historically been underserved by traditional banks and often overlooked by larger private credit providers.
That focus remains unchanged as we scale. What has evolved is the breadth of our platform and our geographic reach. To date, we’ve deployed over $20bn of lending to thousands of entrepreneur-led businesses across the UK and US, supporting more than 70,000 jobs and generating over £40bn in economic value. Importantly, we’ve done that while maintaining a highly disciplined approach to credit, with performance metrics that place us among the top 1% of commercial banks globally.
As we expand internationally, particularly in the US, we are not trying to reinvent the model. We are taking the same core principles – speed, transparency, flexibility, and an entrepreneurial mindset – and applying them to a much larger opportunity set.
Recent transactions I’ve led on include a £50m revolving credit facility for CLS Holdings and our $25m loan-on-loan facility to Trade Finance Partners, which reflect how our platform continues to evolve. We are broadening our capabilities while staying true to what differentiates us: combining data, technology and human judgement to deliver tailored, high-conviction lending.
As you target expansion in the US, what have been the biggest differences in borrower behaviour or credit dynamics compared to the UK?
I’ve just got back from a trip to the US and in many respects, the similarities outweigh the differences. Whether you are speaking to a borrower in the UK or the US, the fundamentals are the same: they want a lender who understands their business, provides clarity early, moves quickly, and can structure a facility around future growth rather than just historical performance.
The biggest difference is scale. The US lower mid-market is significantly larger and more fragmented, which creates a broader and more diverse opportunity set. There is also more competition, but that does not always translate into a better borrower experience. Many businesses still encounter slow decision-making processes or rigid credit frameworks that do not reflect the complexity of their situation.
From a credit perspective, the US requires even greater granularity. Sector dynamics, regional variations, and business models can differ meaningfully, so a forward-looking, data-driven approach becomes even more important.
That plays to our strengths. Having deployed over $20bn across the UK and now increasingly in the US, we have built a model centred on speed, insight and disciplined underwriting. Our ability to analyse complex businesses, monitor performance in real time, and engage directly with management teams allows us to provide certainty in environments where others may hesitate.
Ultimately, the opportunity in the US reflects what we saw in the UK a decade ago: a large cohort of ambitious businesses looking for a more responsive, transparent and entrepreneurial lending partner.
You’ve built a strong position in the ‘lower mid-market’ — how are you seeing that segment evolve today?
The lower mid-market has undoubtedly become more competitive, but it remains structurally underserved. This is a segment that sits between traditional bank lending and large-cap private credit, and it continues to require a level of bespoke underwriting and structuring that many providers struggle to deliver efficiently.
That funding gap was the reason OakNorth was founded, and it still exists today. While more capital has entered the market, borrower needs have also become more complex. Businesses are navigating a more challenging macro environment, including higher interest rates, persistent inflation, and greater uncertainty, which means they are looking for more than just capital. They want certainty, flexibility, and a lender who will support them through the cycle.
At the same time, expectations around execution have increased. Speed and transparency are no longer differentiators, they are prerequisites. Where we continue to stand out is in combining those attributes with disciplined credit analysis and a genuinely entrepreneurial approach to structuring.
We see this across a range of transactions. The £50m facility for CLS Holdings, for example, required a flexible structure to support refinancing and ongoing growth across a diversified portfolio. These are situations where borrowers value a lender who can move quickly, understand complexity, and tailor solutions accordingly.
As the segment evolves, I think the winners will be those who can consistently balance flexibility with discipline, and relationships with rigorous underwriting.
As NAV lending becomes more prominent, how are you thinking about its role within your overall strategy?
NAV lending has evolved significantly over the past few years. What was once seen as a more tactical or defensive liquidity tool is now increasingly viewed as a permanent and strategic part of the fund finance toolkit.
That evolution reflects the broader challenges within private equity—slower exits, tighter liquidity, and a need for more flexible capital solutions. NAV finance can play a very important role in addressing those challenges, whether that is supporting portfolio growth, bridging short-term funding gaps, or enabling continuation strategies.
However, discipline is critical. NAV facilities need to be used in a way that supports long-term value creation, not simply to manufacture distributions or defer difficult decisions. That comes down to understanding the underlying assets, the quality of the portfolio, and the alignment between GPs and LPs.
At OakNorth, our approach is consistent with how we lend more broadly. We focus on the mid-market, where there is still a clear gap for tailored solutions, and we apply a disciplined, forward-looking underwriting framework. That approach has enabled us to deliver top-tier credit performance across cycles, placing us among the top 1% of commercial banks globally.
We see NAV finance as a complementary part of our broader fund finance offering, alongside capital call facilities, GP facilities and liquidity solutions. The key is to remain flexible in structuring, but disciplined in execution.
Discipline is a big part of your business methodology — how does that translate into your personal life?
For me, discipline is really about being intentional with how you use your time and energy. In lending, that means asking the right questions early, being clear on risk, and maintaining consistency through different market cycles. That same mindset carries into my personal life.
A good example is travel. I really enjoy it, but I’m quite disciplined in how I approach it. If I’m going somewhere, I want to make the most of the time there, so I’ll plan ahead, understand what I want to see or experience, and be deliberate about how I spend my time. Whether it’s exploring a city, trying local food, or spending time with family and friends, I like to come back feeling I’ve used the trip well.
It’s not about over-planning, but about having a clear sense of purpose. I think that mirrors how I approach work—being thoughtful, prepared, and focused on what matters most—while also recognising the importance of switching off and gaining perspective when you can.
