Paresh Raja’s £200,000 watch raised red flags years before £1.3-billion MFS collapse

Years before the dramatic collapse of UK mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS), a luxury watch worn by its founder Paresh Raja became an unlikely warning sign for a wary investor.

Paresh Raja, the founder of MFS

In 2019, Paresh Raja, the man behind MFS, turned up to meetings wearing a Richard Mille timepiece worth upwards of £200,000. For one potential investor, the display of wealth did not signal success, but rather raised questions.

Godall recalled being struck by the ‘watch-to-house ratio’, noting that the Richard Mille watch was worth about half the value of his North London home.

Here’s what the FT piece said:

Paresh Raja, MFS’s director, sported a Richard Mille timepiece that can cost upwards of £200,000. A contact of Godall estimated the watch was about half the value of Raja’s north London home at the time. Godall decided to pass up on the opportunity to invest in MFS.

(Also read: Remember Zuckerberg admiring Anant Ambani’s watch? His ₹7.7 crore timepiece explodes internet)

Founded as a small family business, MFS grew rapidly under director Paresh Raja, becoming a significant player in the niche “bridging loans” market. However, concerns about its practices date back to at least 2019, when potential investors flagged poor transparency, incomplete loan data, and unusual refinancing patterns.

Major institutions including Barclays, Santander, Jefferies, Wells Fargo, TPG, and Apollo collectively lent billions to MFS-linked entities.

A Bloomberg report details how Paresh Raja spent lavishly on parties and artwork. The MFS office, for example, displayed jerseys signed by Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, as well as boxing gloves used by Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.