Beth Fisher, Editor, Medianett

Editor's Letter: This year has flown by, but it's been an interesting one




How is it almost the end of 2019? How have we just printed our sixth issue of Bridging & Commercial?! This year has flown by — but it's been an interesting one.

I believe the industry has evolved massively in the past 12 months, and I feel this is down to the sector’s continued drive to boost professionalism and encourage productive dialogue. The latter is something which we have enjoyed enormously — hundreds of financial experts have helped us put together each issue of our print magazine and have commented in our online articles with their specialist knowledge and input, while really probing current industry practices and demanding more from our sector. Together, we have looked at the critical importance of knowing how the bridging market is funded, how distribution in this space has — or hasn’t — changed, the contrast of our country’s resilience in the face of Brexit with the pressure our sector is under regardless, why we might not be as ripe for contraction as we hope, and raising the invisible bar in order to uphold the reputations and standards of the industry.

While 2019 has been the year of discussion around best lending practices, little has been divulged about where brokers come into all of this. So, in our sixth issue of the magazine, we decided to put the microscope on the other side of the story (p36) and, in about 6,000 words, we sum up a bridging broker’s core responsibilities and what does and doesn’t warrant a fee.

“For your client specifically, if things aren’t done properly, they will lose faith in you, your company, your lender and your industry. You are representing much more than just yourself,” states one market stakeholder. 

And, if that doesn't highlight the importance of this topic, I don't know what will.

Flicking through the latest magazine, you will find our exclusive interview (p14) welcomes back a very familiar face to the sector, and this issue’s In Conversation (p56) brings together industry stalwarts Marc Goldberg and Danny Waters — yes, we have overdelivered.

Elsewhere, we look at who is driving product innovation (p22), what it’s like to spend a day as a student at the Connect Academy (p48) and whether nitrate neutrality issues in the Solent could spread further afield, deepening the UK’s housing crisis (p28).

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While the industry has stepped it up a notch, I’d like to think Medianett, as a publisher, has too. We introduced the magazine as a fresh and essential news source to the market, breaking down the barriers of how a trade publications should look, read and feel. We have worked hard to ensure that each copy of the magazine, and our stories online, were not just diverse in content, but also reflected who we were approaching for expert opinion. The typical face of the industry is changing, and this can only be for the greater good. Our mission is to continue to represent and promote this going forward.

We launched even more video content through our filmed roundtable events, and built and strengthened relationships with those that we can collaborate with to force positive change. And, next year, you can expect even more from us. We recently collaborated with bridging lender TAB at the 2019 Finance Professional Show to host a 13-part podcast series and, if you enjoyed that, make sure you tune in after every magazine issue to B&C’s soon-to-launch podcast, which will take you behind the scenes of our glossy read — including what didn’t make it online or to print...

Enjoy the festive period and, in advance, happy new year!

 

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