This is expected to continue to surge upwards in the coming months. Consequently, the BoE base rate has climbed to 0.5%, with further increases highly likely. All of this will undoubtedly impact the property market by curbing the growth of house prices in certain regions and hitting borrowers who aren’t on fixed rates—notably those with commercial mortgages or development finance. Our interview with Atelier in the latest issue of the B&C Magazine discusses this point at length; it’s something all brokers should bear in mind when arranging funding for their clients this year and beyond.

As always, we have an exciting line up of interviews, such as with OSB Group’s Jon Hall; MS Lending Group’s Rob Goodall; and Mercantile Trust’s Maeve Ward.

•   'Wake up and recognise that people have value — and you need to pay for it,' argues specialist finance broker on topic of diversity
•   Editor's Letter: Why are we still talking about a bridging qualification?
•   Editor's Letter: A siloed approach to sustainability will not enact the impact we need

Also in this issue, we talk to a group of brokers about the prospect of a tiered proc fee system — something we hope will come to fruition in some shape or form, for the good of the industry — and examine the use of tech in conveyancing to drive better customer experiences.  

While 2022 is set to be a tough year, we must continue to adapt to and innovate in our rapidly shifting environment in order to survive. And this includes us, too. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes on ways to enhance and invest in what we already offer. To start with, we have officially rebranded to Medianett Publishing, bringing together all of our titles, products and events under one umbrella. We are also investing more time and resource into the B&C Magazine and how it serves our loyal readership, to ensure it continues to be the magazine of choice for property finance brokers.

We understand that intermediaries are the backbone of the specialist finance market, which is why we have dedicated this year’s Power List to 30 of them who made a significant impression on the sector during the past 12 months. With a challenging time ahead of us all, we hope their triumphs, large and small, inspire the specialist finance industry to keep on keeping on.