MFS creditors face $1.8 billion shortfall, UK court filings show

* London-based ​MFS ⁠collapse has raised concerns about lending ​standards

* Asset-based finance market in focus due to MFS's double-pledging

* Creditors cite improper conduct for creditor shortfall

LONDON, ​March ‌10 (Reuters) - Creditors of Market Financial Solutions face an estimatedshortfall in excess of 1.3 billion pounds ($1.75 ⁠billion), partly because the imploded UK mortgage provider ⁠lent to connected borrowers and ​double-pledged collateral, creditors said in court filings seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Last month's collapse of London-based MFS, which specialised in complex property-backed loans, sent shockwaves across European and ​U.S. banks ‌and private credit funds, fuelling concerns about lax lending standards and cracks in booming credit markets.

Barclays, Santander, Jefferies, Elliott Management and Apollo-affiliated Atlas SP Partners are among the lenders with exposure to MFS, sources have previously said.

MFS's ​troubles raise particular questions about the market for asset-based finance, which involves loans ‌that are backed by collateral such as hard assets.

They also swing the spotlight on double-pledging - a practice that lay ‌at the heart of the twin bankruptcies of U.S. auto parts supplier First Brands and car dealership Tricolor.

Zircon Bridging (ZBL) and Amber Bridging (ABL), two MFS creditors now ​in administration, said MFS's collapse had accelerated in the last two weeks. Administrators working on behalf ‌of creditors last month put the collateral shortfall at around 930 million pounds, London High Court filings showed.

Creditors of MFS successfully applied to place the ⁠company into administration, ⁠citing financial irregularities and mismanagement in court documents ‌dated March 9.

ZBL and ABL attributed the creditor shortfall to "improper and likely fraudulent conduct".

MFS, founded by ​CEO Paresh ​Raja, did not respond to a request for comment. The ‌company is unaffiliated with the U.S.-based asset manager MFS Investment Management.

Barclays