On Thinktank's 20th anniversary, co-founder and CEO Jonathan Street reflects on what shaped two decades of specialist non-bank lending, the milestones that matter most and where the broker role is headed from here. The interview spans Thinktank's founding rationale, how its product range and team have expanded, the culture Street has worked to preserve as the business has grown and his view on artificial intelligence and rising borrower complexity as forces reshaping lending.
In 2006, commercial property lending looked quite different to the market brokers recognise today. Jonathan Street, co-founder and CEO of Thinktank, says there was a clear need to bring a longer-term commercial lending proposition to brokers and their clients, backed by people who understood commercial credit. Distribution was exclusively broker introduced from the outset. The offering centred on set-and-forget commercial lending options with full upfront and trail commissions. Street says the founders placed equal weight on experienced people prepared to understand each borrower, property and circumstances behind each transaction. They would not simply apply a standard or rigid square box approach. Those principles established the foundations of the business and have guided every subsequent decision.
Street says Thinktank has evolved considerably from its origins in commercial and complex property lending. Over 20 years, the business expanded into residential, SMSF and private lending and developed broader funding and asset management capabilities. Technology, servicing and operational capacity have also grown as the business scaled. Commercial and complex lending remain fundamental despite that breadth. What has not changed, Street says, is Thinktank's specialist, complex lending pedigree or its 100% commitment to the broker channel. The business has always been exclusively broker introduced, and those relationships have remained fundamental to the business as it has grown. Each expansion built on the credit discipline and broker focus established at the outset.
Thinktank has now funded more than $20 billion in residential and commercial property loans across two decades. FY26 was the business's strongest year to date. Settlements reached $5.2 billion, up 41% from the previous year. The $10 billion AUM figure is one milestone. The diversification from commercial lending into SMSF (2013), residential (2018) and private lending (2024) is another. Street also credits the growth of the team to more than 210 people, naming instrumental leaders including Per Amundsen, Peter Kearns, Peter Vala and James Henshaw, all of whom have since transitioned into retirement. Each of those milestones reflected a deliberate response to changing borrower needs rather than opportunistic growth.
Culture was important to Thinktank from the outset, Street says. Teams now operate across offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The firm has prioritised strong relationships, sharing knowledge, working as one and supporting people who care about the outcomes they deliver. That has not shifted with scale. Thinktank was named a Top Mortgage Employer by MPA for the third consecutive year. Street describes that recognition as meaningful because it reflects the experience of the firm's people. The business donates $75 to team-nominated charities for every new loan settled, with more than $445,000 donated in the most recent financial year. 'Our people have been fundamental to everything Thinktank has been able to achieve over the past 20 years', Street says.
Almost every part of the industry has changed, Street says. Regulation has increased. Funding markets have evolved. Products have become more sophisticated, and technology has changed how loans are originated, assessed and serviced. Brokers today play a much broader role in supporting their clients. Lenders have become better at supporting them across commercial and complex lending through better products, policies, processes and specialist support. There are more lender options for brokers than ever before. Street cautions against one assumption: that greater technological capability makes the fundamentals less important. Sound credit, especially in complex scenarios, still requires good, tactile judgement at speed. In self-employed and SME lending, Street says, you still need to understand the borrower, the property and the structure behind each transaction.
AI has enormous potential to remove friction, improve efficiency and allow brokers and lenders to spend time on the parts of the process where their expertise offers the most return, Street says. Rising complexity is the other force at work. Self-employed and SME borrowers face a more complex environment than before. Changes in regulation and tax policy, together with different financial and ownership structures, mean there will continue to be circumstances that require more than a standard lending solution. Street says staying close to clients, particularly self-employed clients, and building strong relationships with their other professional advisers will become increasingly important for brokers. That puts the broker in a position to be a genuine centre of influence and trusted adviser, with a broader understanding of the client's goals.
Thinktank will continue to evolve in a disciplined and sustainable way, Street says, building on capabilities developed over 20 years while responding to opportunities across lending, technology, funding and asset management. Continued investment in people and capability will remain important, as will supporting brokers as their clients' needs evolve. That includes further developing the commercial and complex lending proposition and deploying AI to improve the broker and borrower experience. 'As we enter our third decade, our focus is on continuing to evolve in ways that add value while remaining committed to the things that matter', Street says. Those things are sound credit, specialist expertise, sharing experience and strong relationships. Brokers looking for further context on non-bank specialist lending can access MPA's premium sponsored reports. Share this article on Facebook or Twitter.
Jonathan Street: co-founder and CEO, Thinktank; established the business in 2006; oversees more than $10 billion in assets under management and a team of 210+ staff across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.