Steven Nicholas, Chief Executive of Tiuta Plc, gives us his view on the past 12 months, and what the New Year will bring...

I often think that predictions about what a year might bring are futile in the extreme simply because none of us know what might be round the corner. 12 months ago I could never have predicted the year Tiuta would have had, and, standing on the brink of 2012 it perhaps pays to expect the unexpected.

I seem to have spent the majority of this year highlighting the discrepancy between what the major high-street banks say they are going to lend, and their actual volumes of lending. Much heralded initiatives such as Project Merlin have failed to live up to the hype and, even with the latest Housing Strategy recently outlined by the Government, much of this money is going to be pushed through banking channels anyway.  To my mind this leaves us in much the same position – many potential borrowers, particularly businesses looking for funding, are going to remain disappointed.

These two initiatives show not only our commitment to the short-term market, but they also highlight that Tiuta is a brand that other funders want to conduct business with. It will perhaps be of no surprise for me to say that we have a number of other initiatives in the pipeline that will be announced during 2012 and prove exactly the same point. We remain one of the most trusted and experienced bridging lenders in the marketplace, and while new brands will come and go, we provide a level of certainty for funder, broker/introducer, and client that few are able to match.

We underwent a number of changes in 2011, not least of which was our decision to focus on bridging and short-term loans, and this has certainly provided the whole of the business with one absolute focus. Since this decision was made, our volumes have increased as have our redemptions.  We make a point of making this information public because, at our heart, we are very much a business dedicated to the needs of our brokers and introducers.  Most of our activity is designed to inform and educate, and make it easier for brokers and introducers to consult us and place business with Tiuta. That will not change, regardless of what year we are in.

Therefore, we really look upon 2012 as a simple extension of the end of this year. We are looking forward to the impetus that a new year can bring and we intend to hit the ground running when January begins. Tiuta certainly has the funds and appetite to ensure clients get the finance they need and we would urge all brokers and introducers who are looking at the short-term lending market to make sure we are first on their Christmas and New Year list.

So, short-term loans that Tiuta and our competitors offer are going to be in demand. The big question is what level of funding is there available to meet this? From our perspective we certainly kick off 2012 on a very sound footing.  We have just secured a £30 million funding line which is for use throughout December and January, and we have also announced a new funding relationship with the Baltic International Bank.

However, while we operate in the short-term market we certainly plan past the duration of one of our loans and, from a wider market perspective, we are positive about the sector over the next 12 months. Certainly, there is nothing to suggest that demand for our type of lending is going to fall back.