Specialist bridging and development lender Somo has been shortlisted for Finance Partner of the Year at the Manchester Property Awards, a recognition that, on the surface, reads as routine industry housekeeping but in fact points to a far more significant shift in how the UK's property sector is being financed. As high-street banks continue to retreat from all but the most vanilla lending propositions, specialist finance houses like Somo have quietly become the backbone of regional development activity, particularly in fast-moving markets such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham where speed of execution often determines whether a scheme gets built at all.