Held at the prestigious Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, this year’s National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) Awards marked the 20th anniversary of the Association with an evening hosted by Adam Tyler, CEO of the NACFB, and England cricketing legend Phil Tuffnell.

On 23rd November 2012, the NACFB Awards had a record-breaking 620 guests in attendance at an evening designed to celebrate the industry’s finest.

Winners of the NACFB 2012 Awards:

- Business Bank of the Year: Lloyds TSB;

- Commercial Mortgage Lender of the Year: Aldermore PLC;

- Most Innovative Lender of the Year: Funding Circle;

- Asset Funder of the Year: Investec Asset Finance PLC;

- Factor & Invoice Discounter of the Year: Bibby Financial Services Ltd;

- Most Supportive Lender of the Year: Lloyds TSB;

- Buy to Let Lender of the Year: The Mortgage Works (UK);

- Short Term Funder of the Year: Masthaven Bridging Finance Ltd;

- Specialist Lender of the Year: Close Brothers

The event spanned a fully-packed Friday and included the Association’s AGM and a networking lunch for its membership.

At the AGM, Adam Tyler spoke about what the Association has achieved this year and discussed what was planned for 2013. The outgoing NACFB Chairman, Kevin Jones, also made his remarks, before an economist presented a discussion on the state of the current market.

The lunch saw hundreds of industry names, lenders and brokers alike, brought together in the same space to network. An array of NACFB member organisations were also on hand at their respective stands to explain what they could offer to the growing membership.

Mark Posniak, Head of Marketing and Operations at Dragonfly Property Finance, said: “It was great to meet and engage with NACFB members, to network and to hear from the various speakers on the day. I was particularly impressed with the economist who spoke about the financial outlook of the marketplace and the economy. The Gala Dinner was a nice way to top off the day and our guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly.”

The evening event is now recognised as one of the most enjoyable nights in the commercial market’s calendar and last Friday was testament to that. 

The NACFB paid tribute to a number of board members both past and present while celebrating a milestone year and the progress made by the Association to date, recognising members’ particular efforts and achievements over the last 20 years.

“The 20th anniversary for any business or organisation in today’s economic environment is an outstanding achievement”, said Rob Lankey, Aldermore Commercial Mortgages’ Managing Director.

Rob added: “With the ‘British’ theme for the evening, it was a great opportunity to let our hair down and take a moment to be proud about success, whether that is the NACFB’s 20th anniversary or Aldermore winning the commercial mortgage award. 

“In my career my teams have won all the commercial mortgage awards at some point except this one, so it was a special moment to be voted the best. To be clear though, this was won by the team and plaudits should be firmly given to them for their tireless commitment to achieve this result.”

Laura McMullen, Business Development Manager at Funding Circle, another winning lender on the night, said: “It was a great day with an excellent turnout. As well as receiving a lot of new enquiries throughout the day, we were very pleased to win the Most

Innovator Lender of the year award – I’d like to thank all the NACFB members who voted for us.”

Claire Wasbrough, Underwriting and Operations Manager at Masthaven Bridging Finance, added: “Tonight provided an invaluable chance to mix with a huge number of brokers and lenders from the bridging world and further afield.

“Winning the award for Short Term Funder of the Year made the night even more enjoyable and was a fantastic achievement for the whole team, who work so hard throughout the year.”

Summing up the evening, Steven McColl, Partner at Soho Corporate, said: "I truly enjoyed the event: the venue was first class, the food was good, and the quality of guests was excellent, with most people in the short term industry there or represented.”

Over the last 20 years, the NACFB has remained true to its aim to improve broker standards and promote access to funding for businesses. At a time when many large lenders are unable to provide the needs of the market, the Patrons of the NACFB provide a very credible alternative to investors and SMEs while supporting British businesses.