The Founder
Built By An Operator.
Not A Guru.
Created by Mark Rusling — a property, specialist finance and lending professional with more than three decades of real-world experience inside the UK property and finance industries.
For more than thirty years, Mark Rusling has worked inside the worlds of property, specialist lending, deal structuring and investor finance — not as a course creator, not as a social media influencer, but as someone who has spent his career helping property transactions actually happen.
From sourcing opportunities and packaging investment deals, to arranging specialist finance, bridging loans and commercial funding solutions, Mark has operated at the practical end of the property industry for decades.
Countrywide Property Academy™ was built from that experience. Not theory. Not recycled training. Real-world systems developed through years of working alongside investors, developers, lenders and property professionals across the UK.
Industry Experience
A Career Spent At The Centre Of UK Specialist Finance
Throughout his career, Mark has operated alongside some of the most influential organisations within UK specialist lending — including:
These were not names on a presentation slide. They were real commercial relationships formed while operating within the UK lending market.
Working alongside lenders, underwriters, introducers, developers and professional investors provided a front-row seat to how transactions are assessed, funded and completed in the real world.
Funding Relationships
Beyond The High Street
Most people learn property finance from the borrower's side. Mark learned it from both sides of the table.
Over the years he has developed relationships across private capital, specialist lenders and corporate funding sources — providing a deeper understanding of how finance decisions are made, and how successful operators present opportunities professionally.
The Problem It Solves
Why Countrywide Property Academy™ Exists
After years working within property and finance, one problem appeared repeatedly: talented people were losing opportunities because they lacked systems.
Deals were stored in spreadsheets. Investor details were scattered across notebooks. Follow-ups were forgotten. Critical documents went missing. And promising operators never developed a professional process.
Countrywide Property Academy™ was built to solve that problem — so students can learn the process, then run it.
The goal is not simply to teach property. The goal is to help students build a professional acquisition business.
The Career Behind The Curriculum
What Students Are Really Learning
You are not learning from someone who discovered property six months ago and built a course around it. You are learning from someone who has lived inside the industry for decades.
- Chapter 01Owned and operated mortgage and loan packaging businesses
- Chapter 02Built national broker networks
- Chapter 03Worked with developers and investors
- Chapter 04Structured specialist lending transactions
- Chapter 05Operated through multiple market cycles
- Chapter 06Survived the 2008 financial crisis and rebuilt
- Chapter 07Continues to operate within property and specialist finance today
The Philosophy
The Philosophy Behind The Academy
Most property education teaches people how to find deals. Few teach people how to operate professionally. Countrywide Property Academy™ is built around a different principle:
“Professional systems
create professional results.”
Trusted Experience Across
Three Decades. Multiple Disciplines. One Operator.
Educational platform and workflow tools only. Countrywide Property Academy™ does not provide regulated financial advice, mortgage advice, investment advice, legal advice or tax advice. Users should seek independent professional advice where appropriate.