This week we've pinned down Nikki Cann, Associate Director of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) to answer Bridging & Commercial's most pressing 10 questions....
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B&C: Who do you fancy off the telly?
NC: Christopher Eccleston.
[B&C: who?]
The first revamped Dr Who, the one before David Tenant, he was very cute in that...
Right, OK, so how long have you been at NACFB and where were you before that?
I was editor at Business Moneyfacts before moving to Devon to join the team at NACFB. I oversaw the research and the data and put together the magazine. It was great, I loved it there but I missed home. I ‘m a Devonian and it was time for me to move back again [NACFB are based just outside Exeter], my daughter was two and she needed to see her grandparents more...
So I’ve been here for four years now, I arrived in April 2006. Once I had decided it was time for a change I approached the association’s chief exec, then Keith Heron. It was the right place and the right time for the move.
And what’s the best thing about your job?
The variety. Every day is totally different. One minute I’m reading through complex legal regulations, and rewording it to make it comprehensive for our members, and the next I’m designing our next newsletter and then there are events to organise, the expo...
[B&C How’s that going?]
We’ve hit the target! In fact we’ve gone over target! 500 delegates and over 50 stands, we’re absolutely delighted, the response has been brilliant.
What’s the worst thing about your job?
I don’t really know... I guess the commute! I know that will sound strange because it’s only a seven mile journey, but it’s pretty much all in first gear in the mornings as there’s just so much traffic. Countess Wear roundabout is horrendous during rush hour – I know people reading this won’t know what I’m on about but it’s true!
With the job itself it’s difficult to say... but the worst thing is kind of the best thing too. We’re such a small team that there’s just not enough hours in the day, but then that’s why it’s so varied, what makes it so great. If you want something doing you have to do it yourself...
If you weren’t at NACFB where do you think you’d be?
I’m not sure... realistically? Probably still at Business Moneyfacts... Most of my family are in the financial services, so it was a natural progression for me to follow suit – but I’ve done plenty of other things too. After graduating from University of East Anglia with a BA in English Lit and History, I stacked shelves in M&S for a bit and I also worked as a wardrobe assistant for a theatre company where I travelled the country on tour with them, it was fantastic.
Then I saw they were looking for people at Barclays and so I applied and worked as a cashier for a bit before an opportunity for me to move over to the business banking side came up. That’s how I got the role at Business Moneyfacts, they always employ people with a banking background, you need it to understand and process the data.
But in my dream world, if money was no option and I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d be a graphic designer!
Have you found it challenging being a female director in a male dominated industry?
No. Not recently anyway! It’s a bit of an odd one really, the respect improves with age. In your twenties people don’t take you seriously and now I’m the wrong side of thirty it’s great! I think it’s much more of a struggle when you’re young and female...
Younger men in the industry don’t seem to have the same problems. I remember when I worked in banking I went for a promotion, which I didn’t get - and I was told it was because I was supposedly too young. At the time I didn’t really question it, didn’t think much of it, but the boys doing the job I was going for were younger than me!
I don’t think I was too young, I think I was young and female.
What trends have you noticed within commercial finance over the last 12 months?
I think there’s still a lot of battening down of the hatches amongst brokers, but I think lenders are becoming more optimistic. I sense a definite optimism in the air... We’ve had enquiries from potential patrons increase. People are doing things again, events, launches... This might not be filtering through to liquid funds for the broker just yet, but it is shifting towards a proper recovery for the industry.
But there is always the threat of a double dip, I am a little anxious... But I do believe in people’s confidence too. It’s not all about facts, figures and markets, it’s also about confidence and people taking risks again – good, calculated risks.
What do you predict will happen in the commercial finance market over the next 12 months?
Well, if I’ve got my optimistic hat on then more of the same, more confidence returning and a proper recovery... but if I don’t... then I am worried about a double dip...
OK, so how do you unwind?
With a glass of wine in front of the telly! And I love cooking too, especially Chinese food. We live in a small town with no Chinese takeaway so I‘ve started cooking my own Chinese food instead, I had beef with cashew nuts and green beans last night... it was delicious!
What’s your favourite film – honestly!
The Dish, directed by Rob Sitch and starring Sam Neil. It’s easily my favourite film and I’ve watched it countless times. It’s a classic feel-good, beautiful movie. There are others I could mention – It’s a Wonderful Life, Some Like it Hot – but The Dish is definitely my all time favourite.
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