In the Spotlight with Josh Knight, Octane Capital

We spoke to Josh Knight, business development manager at Octane Capital, about ‘third generation’ lending, opening up the ‘product-less’ approach to mainstream bridging and what it’s like to work in Camden – the polar opposite of the City.

Related topics:  In The Spotlight
Rozi Jones
2nd March 2018
John Knight Octane
"The idea of the third generation of bridging – combining flexibility with professionalism – is as easily applied to vanilla deals as it is to those that are complicated. "

FR: We’re hearing more and more about third generation, ‘product-less’ lending. What’s your take on it and why did it attract you to Octane Capital?

I know, the phrase certainly seems to have stuck! Barely an hour goes by without Mark (Mark Posniak – Octane’s Managing Director) mentioning it, so maybe that’s the reason. His passion for the cause is infectious.

For me, the third generation represents the flexibility of bridging when it first came about – when deals were highly bespoke, coupled with the professionalism of more recent times. We believe a mixture of the two is what brokers and their clients need: flexibility, speed and certainty – and of course being a lender that’s enjoyable to deal with. We work with brokers from the ground up: we structure the deal with them rather than shoe-horning their client into a pre-defined product and its parameters. This is one of the reasons I was so keen to join – the #3rdgen concept is non-formulaic and non-transactional, so disruptive and fundamentally exciting.

Whilst professionalism is important to us, there is real character that runs through to Octane’s core. We’re based in Camden, we dress casually, and we place emphasis on enjoying what we do. We want to have fun, working on great deals, whilst building a superb business at the same time.

FR: How do you think the third generation of lending will go down with more vanilla bridging finance?

The idea of the third generation of bridging – combining flexibility with professionalism – is as easily applied to vanilla deals as it is to those that are complicated.

With these more common deals our emphasis is on speed and certainty. Brokers don’t need to scroll through convoluted product ranges to see which borrower type his or her client most closely fits, but simply needs to pick up the phone or write us an email. We’ll work hard to give them a quick response and, when we say yes, we mean it. Our goal is, and always will be, to work with our brokers as lending partners.

Regardless of whether the deal is complex or vanilla, we never want to go through ‘box ticking’ exercises. We assess risk based on an assessment of the asset, the borrower and the exit - and we arrive at a conclusion based on all three factors. And, again, when we say yes – we mean it!

FR: How do you see 2018 panning out for Octane, the bridging market and economy as a whole?

2018 is going to be the year Octane goes through the gears and the third generation of lending really starts to bed in with brokers. This will happen even sooner now that we have opened our doors to everyday deals, as that will expose more brokers more quickly to our product-less lending model. The fact that we’re putting such emphasis on growing the sales team shows our intent. Within a week or two of my arrival, Francesca Woodhouse joined in a similar role. We have big targets and we intend to hit them.

And even if the economy continues to stutter, which the latest downgrade to GDP seems to intimate, I’m not too worried about the impact on the bridging market. After all, bridging, to a relative extent, is market agnostic. I expect the market to continue to grow in size regardless, but with Octane continuing to hoover up more market share!

FR: In your experience, what do brokers look for most in a bridging lender?

Certainty, flexibility and speed. Our third generation approach allows us to deliver greater flexibility than most lenders. Every single scenario we look at is assessed on its own merits and every facility we provide is entirely bespoke. And, with no red tape, LTV bands or product limitations to get in the way of a deal, we can be certain of delivering a deal when we say we will. We’re blessed to have an incredibly experienced team here at Octane, which is crucial to us delivering on our promises in a timely fashion. If a deadline’s there, it will be met.

FR: What do you hope to achieve at Octane Capital?

I can’t wait to start contributing. As a salesperson your focus is always on raising as much money as possible – often rather selfishly. But what’s great about Octane is that I’ve wholeheartedly bought into the company’s vision: I want to contribute because I want the company to meet its targets. Providing I can be a key component to the company’s success I’ll be happy.

FR: If you could see any headline about specialist lending in 2018, what would it be?

“Octane Capital’s Josh Knight secures Octane Capital 5-a-Side Cup with last minute penalty save!”

On a serious note, I’d love to see a headline about Octane surpassing its lending target for the year. Our targets are really ambitious, but there’s nobody in our office who thinks they won’t be achieved.

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