NapeX

Tom Clark and Seb Carrelli launch new brokerage NapeX Finance




Tom Clark and Sebastiano Carrelli have announced the launch of their new brokerage NapeX Finance.

NapeX’s key USP is its ability to analyse a deal on day one, with a view of how a lender will look at the proposal. 

For example, it will not be putting deals to lenders that don’t fit their parameters and, if they don’t, it will be engaging at the right level at the start to make the process work. 

Tom and Seb exclusively told Bridging & Commercial that setting up their own brokerage had been a “dream” of theirs for years.

Tom left specialist lender Octane Capital in May, after being part of the launch team as sales director.

Tom was previously head of intermediaries at Wellesley Finance and senior development manager at Shawbrook.

Seb was most recently head of UK property lending at MoneyThing and, prior to that, held senior business recoveries manager and senior lending manager roles at Wellesley Finance and Wellesley & Co respectively. 

Tom believed that the explosion of new lenders in the marketplace meant there was a need for experienced finance professionals to help clients “navigate the maze of lenders”.

“With the market getting wider, the time it takes for a client to explore their options can be exhausting and frustrating,” said Tom. 

“What attracted us to becoming brokers is working with our clients and not being tied to a specific set of criteria or products.”

NapeX – which focuses on professional investors, developers and trading businesses – has built a panel of lenders around deliverability, service, price and gearing. 

It is also in early talks with a number of new and existing lenders coming into the market with some exclusive opportunities to launch products that are not just replicating what currently exists.

The brokerage also has a unique Know Your Lender (KYL) process for onboarding all its lenders. 

“KYL is about understanding the financial strength of the lender, the decision makers within the business, its service and flexibility. 

“It’s really important we know how a lender is funded, because if that changes, that could have a big impact on our client. 

“The market is in great shape, however, we have come across some clients who have been let down at the last minute due to funding or later in the deal … where works are being funded.” 

NapeX will also be able to arrange funding lines for lenders.

“Our team comes from a specialist and corporate background and this area was born out of the need from our relationships to lend our experience in negotiating these facilities, ensuring they are competitive and drive volume for them in the particular market space.

“We don’t see this being any different from arranging a large commercial or development facility for a client and in this area of the market we are seeing growing competition from new corporates/lenders and it’s a really interesting space to watch.

“We see more private lenders coming into the market and I feel we may see some big businesses [which] are not traditional lenders entering this market space because of their capital base.”

While NapeX’s current focus is on its existing clients and contacts up until the end of 2018, it has ambitious plans for 2019, where it will be looking to add to its team to support the business.

The brokerage is set to have full permissions in early 2019.

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