CFI: Bridging
New bridging entrants should be welcomed Some operators come
by Martin Kearns, head of strategic policy, Tiuta
once again the past month in the world of bridging fi- nance has seen no shortage of new developments with plenty to keep all stakehold- ers interested including a number of new entrants, in- creased activity from other seasoned lenders and a sig- nificant increase in the level of interest being generated by the short-term market as a whole.
Warm welcome First up, we must welcome Precise mortgages to the world of bridging. the main- stream and buy-to-let lender has researched the mar- ketplace and decided that bridging is a market worth lending into. no surprises there, we would say exactly the same. competition is vital in any sector and it is good to see a growing num- ber of brand names making the move into the market. Precise mortgages is per-
haps the most high-pro- file entrant in the last few months however there are no shortage of other busi- nesses who have also an- nounced their arrival on the bridging stage – Soho cor- porate being perhaps the latest. clearly brokers and in- troducers will now be sort- ing the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the prod- ucts that these newbies are bringing to market.
with a notable pedigree al- ready however like all new entrants the proof of the pudding will be in the eat- ing. in this business, we like to think that experience counts for a great deal and there is much to be said for dealing with a lender which has been around the block and got the t-shirt.
Uniting the industry We believe it’s important to support those organisations which have the interests of bridging and short-term participants at their heart. the association of Short term Lenders fights for our industry’s rights and it’s necessary for all those active to lend their support with whatever means possible. the bridging sector has perhaps not always been the best at providing a united front however these asso- ciations certainly bring all stakeholders closer together. as long as we can agree on a common cause and the right way to represent ourselves then i foresee a strong fu- ture for trade bodies and their members.
Closer to home it was also a significant month for tiuta in many other regards; of most inter- est was probably our deci- sion to focus solely on the bridging loan market and to voluntarily withdraw our permissions to conduct this type of business. this was not a decision
taken lightly but after a busi- ness-wide strategic review we decided it made sense to
56 mortgage introducer JULY 2011
“We must welcome Precise Mortgages to the world of bridging. Competition is vital in any sector and it is good to see a growing number of brand names making the move into the market. Clearly brokers and introducers will now be sorting the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the products that these newbies are bringing to market”
go back to basics and focus on our core business. With this having been
done, and with a number of other changes made throughout the business over the past few months, we feel we are now in a perfect position to forge ahead in the bridging sector.
already, our decision to do
this is being justified – may was a record month for us in terms of number of deals completed and our pipeline business over the next few months is also particularly strong. So much that we anticipate further record months throughout the rest of 2011. our recruitment activ-
ity, with new business de- velopment staff and a new non-exec director, have only added to the overall feel- ing that we are most com- fortable with bridging and we can deliver real value to all our stakeholders in this sector.
SMEs still suffering Finally, a word about the wider market and the con- tinuing disappointing level of ongoing funding from our major banks - particularly to small and medium-sized businesses. We are seeing first-hand
the difficulties that many business owners are having in trying to get long-term finance and it is these ongo- ing issues that are respon- sible for an uncertain future for many. it is absolutely impera-
tive for any uK plc recovery that the banks meet their responsibilities in this area – bridging loans can only do so much and beyond what we are able to provide there is a real need for longer- term financial support. Without it, many firms
and businesses are doomed to fail; with it, we can look to the future with a much greater degree of optimism.
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