Not a fan of mushrooms but would like to fly and go travelling with Dr Who…

Jason McGee-Abe spoke to Helen Farmer, Head of Underwriting at Tiuta PLC...

(1) How long have you been in the industry and how did you get to where you are now?

I have been working in the bridging loan industry for about four years now. Before that I worked as an underwriter on residential mortgages and buy-to-lets at a number of lenders.  I started on the counter at a Halifax branch in Worthing.

(2) What is the most significant difference you see between your first and most recent days in bridging?

Underwriting is certainly more structured than when I first started. While the flexibility is still there, particularly with a lender like Tiuta that looks at all deals on a case-by-case basis, however you now have to look at both the security and the client in far more depth than when I first began in lending, not forgetting of course the overall nature of the deal.

(3) Which sports team do you support, if any, and why?

The fact I was going to leave this answer blank, should tell you everything you need to know about that.

(4) If you could change one thing about the sector, what would it be?

I would certainly like to see a better understanding within the industry of the benefits and advantages of bridging.  Bridging is certainly not last resort lending or some form of sub-prime activity which appears to be a popular misconception particularly amongst the mainstream press.

(5) If you could have one superpower, what would you choose and why?

I would like to be able to fly - just for the fun of it.

(6) What was the last film you saw and what did you think of it?

At the cinema it was Thor and I have to say, I loved it. At home it was Planet Terror - I thought that was great as well.

(7) What would you put in room 101 if you had the chance?

Mushrooms - I’ll leave it at that.

(8) What’s your favourite book?

Watership Down by Richard Adams and anything by Douglas Adams or Iain Banks.

(9) What do you expect to happen in the bridging finance industry over the next 12 months?

I do not think there will be any major changes and therefore I fully expect to see on-going increases in the levels of lending we complete.  This is because I cannot see the high-street lenders changing their lending policies anytime soon and therefore many more individuals, businesses, developers, entrepreneurs will be looking to access bridging loans in order to get moving with their projects.

(10) If you could do anything you wanted this Sunday, what would it be?