1. What does your role consist of and what roles/experiences have you had in the past?
A bit of everything really - my main responsibility is overseeing our sales, marketing and underwriting whilst maintaining relationships with our borrowers and introducer partners and assisting with managing the loan book on a day to day basis. So, plenty of different hats to put on throughout the week.
Before Regentsmead I lived in China for a couple of years where I was exporting back to the UK and Europe - so specialising in development finance was really a natural progression. Unfortunately, we only have one Chinese client at Regentsmead so I don’t get to speak as much Chinese these days.
2. Did you always want to work in finance?
No. From a young age I was interested in being a chef. But after learning the hard way that I can’t cook very well, I was forced to turn to other options.
3. What one thing would you change about the development finance industry?
Honestly I wouldn’t change a thing – I think it’s a vibrant and flourishing market at the moment with lots of different options - some good and some not so good. It’s an industry that is still growing after being badly wounded in the recession - so everything is constantly changing and evolving - which makes it all the more vital we continue to keep our finger on the pulse.
4. How do you feel about the number of new entrants in the development finance market?
Ambivalent. Competition is a good thing and we welcome it as we know that if we continue to offer a market leading service coupled with our speed and expertise, we are bound to continue to thrive. At the same time, we have seen examples of new lenders come in that don’t necessarily fully appreciate the nuances of development lending and this has caused problems for some developers. All we can do is to continue to assist our brokers so they can appreciate what the best offering for their clients are.
5. What exciting projects do Regentsmead have coming up in the near future?
Innovation is key in any business and it’s great that our endeavours last year have culminated in an award for innovation in the SME finance sector by Business Moneyfacts, alongside the likes of Barclays, Santander and Metro Bank. I don’t want to spoil what we have next up our sleeve but 2016 should be our most exciting and innovative yet!
6. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
The ability to fly - so that getting around from site to site to see our borrowers would be much easier and I wouldn’t spend large chunks of time crawling around the M25!
7. What is the most interesting development finance deal you have done?
We’ve had a few celebrity cases that have been interesting to deal with but I particularly enjoyed the development we funded on an island in the Thames near Henley. The only access was by a boat so I particularly enjoyed the summer visits to site to catch-up with the developer. Whilst the boat ride over was a bit wobbly, the house which is built on large stilts to allow for any flooding, was superb and sold well.
8. What are the biggest challenges for the development finance market this year?
I think we have gone from having a lack of liquidity in the market to an oversupply in finance available. The risks here will be that rates may get lower, but more worryingly, lenders will be tempted to raise their LTVs and lend on deals that perhaps they shouldn’t - leaving lenders and borrowers financially exposed. The last thing we need is another crash, but the market will eventually turn and those that are taking those extra risks to secure more business will be the first to get hurt. An unfortunate inevitability in my opinion.
9. Who is your idol?
Arnold Schwarzenegger – bodybuilder, politician and maker of cheesy movies. What more could you ask for in an idol?
10. If you could take three things to a desert island, what would they be?
A deck chair, mojitos and a large cruise ship to go home on.
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