The Interview
ParTnerShIPS After launching officially in late January, Brightstar is still finalising its panels in the four product areas but Jupp is pleased that the business has signed pretty much all the market leaders in those areas. Indeed, its lender panel consists of 18
lenders at present spread across four clearly defined product areas. The firm also works with distributers including MAB, Intrinsic, Ingard as well as DA firms such as First Action Finance. “We’re comfortable saying we’re whole
of market,” says Jupp. “That said, in terms of our relationships with other distributers, if a network already has a decent relationship with a lender in place and all we’d be doing is diluting some of that lender’s business by redirecting some from the network, then there is no value in us muscling in. We’ll only operate if we feel we can increase the volume of business going to that lender.”
Try me And it’s not just panel distributers who can work with Brightstar Financial. “We’re really keen for brokers to get
in touch with us if they think they have business they need this kind of help with,” says Jupp. “And that goes for any registered, authorised intermediary. We want people to pick up the phone. There is no such thing as a stupid enquiry. “We will give firm indication on that first
call if we think we can help someone. It can’t always be a definite yes or no but our experience means we don’t have to mess brokers about doing credit reports or decisions in principle if a case won’t go through. “We already have around 45% of
the UK distribution market signed up. We are both keen and active in terms of developing new relationships with networks but we’re rolling out slowly because the size of our team means we can’t service the whole market immediately. The quid pro quo is that we don’t want to try to compete with a network for business they’re already sending to a lender. We only want to work with people where we can add real value.” Jupp is also aware that the market he
is looking to capitalise on is small as it stands.
“THE SAD REALITY IS THAT AT THE MOMENT FOR EVERY HUNDRED CUSTOMERS OUT THERE, THERE WILL BE 60 FOR WHOM THERE SIMPLY ISN’T A PRODUCT OR SOLUTION. BUT THERE ARE 40% WHERE THERE MAY BE A SOLUTION. WE BELIEVE WITHIN THAT GROUP THERE ARE CUSTOMERS WHO WOULDN’T HAVE GOT A LOAN WHO WE’LL BE ABLE TO HELP”
“These areas are low volume, high
income,” he explains. “There has been a massive uptick in activity in terms of new products and new lenders coming into the bridging space for example. I think there has been growth in the number of clients who would traditionally have been serviced by a mainstream lender – a developer say – who is having to go to bridging lenders now. “What we’re after in the short term is to
survive in order to benefit from the upside. We will not make significant profit in the next 12 months by getting involved in this market, nor are we expecting to.”
BullISh exPecTaTIonS So what is Jupp expecting then?
“This is going to sound very bullish but we believe with the heritage of the people we have involved with the business, the shareholders and investors and management team – we’d be very disappointed if we didn’t finish the year as the largest specialist distributer in the UK,” he says. Bullish indeed given that consensus
suggests gross lending in 2011 may be even less than the subdued year we’ve just put behind us. “Let me just put that into perspective,”
he says, looking acutely and consciously cautious. “The specialist market at the moment is very small and there aren’t a lot of people left in it. For us to become market leader we will have to do reasonably well because the businesses
left in that sector are well run. It’s a big ask but we wouldn’t have to be doing hundreds of units per month to be at the top. We think it’s realistic.” That’s the objective. How do you plan to
get there then, I ask? “I want to run a company that
is absolutely at the cutting edge of innovation in specialist lending,” says Jupp, matter-of-factly. “We’re not just providing lenders with origination opportunity, we’re providing them with support, guidance, market intelligence. We’re working with them to help develop products to meet the existing demand. I think of us as a facilitator, selling expertise and knowledge of a sector and using our understanding to put people in touch with the right lenders.” Jupp is bright about the future of
his firm though measured about the environment he has to work in. “That word uncertainty is ruining
everybody at the moment,” he says. “There’s the base rate rise, the Mortgage Market Review, lenders having to repay the Special Liquidity Scheme and Credit Guarantee Scheme. “I hope a lot of these things will begin
to be a bit clearer over the next couple of years and we’ll see more lending and a loosening of the risk curve but in my view lenders aren’t prepared to do it yet because they don’t know where the goal posts will end up. “It won’t always be like that though.
That’s the primary thought that has kept me in this industry. This is about as bad as it’s likely to get.” It was this that gave them the
company’s name: Brightstar Financial. “We wanted a brand that was open,
positive and had a bit of dynamism. We want to be refreshingly positive so brokers feel they can phone us up about a difficult deal and we won’t laugh in their face. We understand the specialist market and we believe in its future.” Whether Brightstar Financial will achieve
its bullish goal of market leader remains to be seen but Jupp appears to be bringing a small point of hope to this market. Dynamism he has in abundance as well as enthusiasm. It may be a small start, but it’s a start all the same. And for that, we can all be thankful. n
mortgage iNtroducer MARCH 2011 35
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