Short term deals drive Shawbrook's 437% commercial growth

Following the announcement that Shawbrook Bank’s commercial lending business had grown by 437 per cent during 2012, the firm seems to be flourishing as a funding provider for an enormous range of companies that need access to finance.

Moreover, since its launch in October 2011, Shawbrook has seen some exponential increases across its business to register an underlying profit of £2.6 million in 2012, breaking even in May of the same year after only 16 months of trading.

The bank boasts a strong commercial finance offering, maintaining not only a strong commercial lending division, which grew fourfold to be worth £201 million at the end of 2012, but also an asset finance arm which was added to Shawbrook’s range after it acquired Singers Asset Finance.

Far from taking credit for the bank’s continued progress, Shawbrook’s Chief Executive Ian Henderson said that it was demand from “credit-worthy SMEs” that had driven its growth in such areas.

Karen Bennett, Shawbrook’s Sales and Marketing Director, Commercial Mortgages, told us about three areas in particular which had propelled this growth.

She said: “We’re pleased with the significant growth that Shawbrook’s commercial mortgage business has seen across our four key markets: specialist buy-to-let, commercial investment, trading businesses and short term loans.

“Of those, specialist BTL and short term products represent our largest growth areas, though we consider Shawbrook’s term refurbishment loans to be our most competitive in the market.”

Karen went on to say that Shawbrook’s growth was unsurprising when considering the growing network of intermediaries which the lender fosters. She said: “Our Strategic Partner programme has grown from 18 broker partners in September 2012 to 29 in May 2013. All our Strategic Partners have achieved the published benchmarks, with regards to both quantity of business and quality of conversions. With no upper limit on the number of partners we will include, we look forward to more brokers reaching this level and joining the programme.”

She added: “Shawbrook launched a number of product changes at the start of 2013 which have been really well received. Alongside improvements to our products, we are ensuring that our focus is also on the process and service that we offer to our brokers as we know that they rely on us to deliver on our word and we take that trust very seriously.

“We are looking to enhance our dedicated short term loan offering. We are confident that with minor developments to the process and some dedicated resources, we can continue to give the brokers a consistent service, while building strong relationships which we believe are essential in the short term loan arena.”

Finally, Karen went on to praise the important role that brokers played in the Bank’s continued commercial finance success. She said: “Even though Shawbrook’s activity has increased, we want to grow the business further and we are committed to delivering for the broker channel. Brokers are central to everything we do: not only do they provide business opportunities but they also act as the first filter in assessing whether the deal is right for Shawbrook.

“In the end, brokers manage the case, and more importantly the client, all the way through from application to completion. They manage all third party relationships and resolve any issues that may arise throughout the processing of a case. We do all we can to support our network of brokers throughout this process and believe that, for a partnership to work, there needs to be trust – something that we know must be earned from brokers.

Karen concluded: “It’s essential that we deliver on our word and keep striving for excellence so that in every instance the broker can know that Shawbrook always does its absolute best to deliver for both them and their clients.”