I’m sure I’m not the only person looking forward to the two long weekends that we are about to enjoy.  After all, you don’t have to be a fan of the royal nuptials to appreciate a three day working week!

But whilst most of us enjoy a well-deserved lie-in or plan a weekend away, I suspect that a few companies will be using the time to plan their next move...

This month we have already seen one big name, Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank, extend its commercial lending arm. We’ve also been seeing a lot of Aldermore in the press, with reports showing that the bank has increased its deposits by a staggering 176 per cent over the last year.

There are now rumours that yet another large-scale and well established lender is preparing to enter the bridging market. With such ongoing activity, I suspect that the people working behind the scenes will be postponing their long weekends for quite some time.

However, one thing is certain: whilst the next 12 days may bring some respite, the beginning of May is shaping up to be very busy indeed.

Those who have been nominated for the Bridging & Commercial Awards 2011 need to get their nomination forms and broker references in before the end of April.  May 3rd will see the judging panel take on the mammoth task of selecting the winners.  It goes without saying that the support shown by the broker community will stand heavily in your favour of nominees when it comes to the deliberations.

On May 5th, Bridging & Commercial will be holding its debut Bridging Finance Networking Forum.  This innovative occasion will see five top lenders play host to the who’s who of the intermediary world, in the sophisticated surroundings of Kettner’s in Soho.  Guests will be treated to presentations by experts in their various fields, covering all aspects of bridging and commercial finance.  Places for this event are still available – get in touch with Caron on 0207 316 1822 for further information.
Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that the winner of Bridging & Commercial’s ‘3rd Birthday Treasure Hunt’ has been selected.

After hundreds of somewhat spectacularly incorrect guesses, just three entrants managed to correctly identify the names of all of the industry figures, based on their baby photos.  Congratulations to Myles Williams of First 4 Bridging, who was the first person to submit his correct guesses and is the lucky owner of a shiny new iPad. Thanks once again to Jonathan Newman and his team at Brightstone Law for sponsoring the competition.

Feel free to get in touch with me at

[email protected]

if your company has decided to work its way

through the next two weeks... as always, I’d love to hear your news!