The NACFB workshop was designed to allow intermediaries to interact with lenders and service providers, and was sponsored by the patrons speaking. Bridging & Commercial went along to find out more...

An extensive list of patrons included Aldemore Bank, Bank of Cyprus, Bibby Financial Services, Borro, Regentsmead, MT Finance and Portal tax Claims. The short presentations given by each company explained a bit more about what was on offer for brokers and what makes each company unique.

First to speak was Andrew Faed, of Aldemore Bank, who told listeners that their business is based on a traditional banking model. Aldemore recently signed up their 1000th borrower in two years and focuses on maintaining a good relationship between bank and customer.

Andrew Faed explained, “We structure cash-flow to suit borrowers not banks.

“Every day is different and every situation is different, which is in keeping with being bespoke.”

The bank laid out attractive terms for brokers, highlighting the relatively short leases for residential and commercial investments and the company’s clean slate – without the legacy of bad debts that plague many banks.

Other companies who took to the lectern included short-term asset lender borro. Paul Brett, Business Development Director, spoke not only of what borro currently do, but of their plans for the future. He said: “borro operates completely online. Our loan sizes range from £1,000 to £1 million.

“Looking to the future, we are looking to lend £30 million next year. We are very much short-term lending – we are there to fulfil a need that is normally ancillary to what is already being done.”

James Bloom, CEO at Regentsmead, highlighted the company’s position as ‘a true principal lender’ who purely lend their own funds. He added: “We are a constant presence in the market – we never closed our doors for business during the credit crunch.

“Regentsmead is here to do the work – literally all we need is the name and number of someone who wants development finance.”

He told brokers: “We collect your fees for you at offer-letter stage, so you receive your money from us on offer.

“Because of the way we work, the relationship with your client will be enhanced. Our client retention is over 90 per cent.”

Another member of the company, James Moore, also spoke about his personal transition from broker to lender. He explained, “I’ve been in the finance industry for 23 years and I was a broker for 21 of those. It is really refreshing to speak to a lender who has their own cash.

“I feel it is my duty to get amongst brokers and clients to let them know that we’re hungry to lend. We’re coming across deals that I’m shocked banks won’t lend on.”

One thing that was stressed by more than one speaker was the bespoke nature of the bridging industry. Joshua Elash of MT Finance highlighted this: “Bridging is a service-driven, bespoke industry and this is what we can offer – being a smaller, tight team of seven.”

He continued, “MT Finance build relationships with our brokers. We are in a growth industry with some key big names but we develop strong relationships with our brokers.”

Like borro, MT Finance’s goal is expansion: “At the moment, we are doing just over £1.5 million worth of lending per month, but our goal is to get our lending levels up to £3-4 million a month.”

Brokers and lenders enjoyed the day – soaking up the sun and the connections.

Joshua Elash gave us his impressions of the event, stating, “It has been yet another thoroughly informative and engaging event arranged by the NACFB.”

Jason Maher, Business Banking Manager at the Bank of Cyprus also felt the day was a success. “The events are very good and the location is enjoyable. Days like these are good ways of getting coverage for our company,” he said.

Broker Vijeyanathan Jeganathan, of 1st Commercial, told us: “The workshop has been very useful and very informative. It has been a fantastic day out on a sunny day.