Joined-up thinking means we can help more advisers

There has been no shortage of businesses in the mortgage market who have adapted how they operate over the last year.

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Barney Drake | Specialist Mortgage Group
15th April 2021
Barney Drake
"Our new, joined-up approach should mean we can provide an alternative for those advisers the next time they have a client who require a wider range of specialist mortgage products."

Obviously, the pandemic has pushed many to adjust the way they work so that more can be done from home. But there’s also been the opportunity to review the best way to set up our office layouts, for example.

That’s something we have worked on at Specialist Mortgage Group, which has led to us acquiring the full share capital of Y3S Bridging & Commercial and bringing the team together with our regular Y3S Loans business under one roof in our headquarters in Cardiff.

And what has been particularly encouraging is how quickly the teams have knitted together. Having that level of expertise, across those different types of specialist borrowing, has already meant we can work in a far more joined-up way and provide greater support to far more financial intermediaries and their clients.

It’s easy to talk about providing that referral service across different types of lending, but when your teams are located in separate locations, with little interaction between them, providing a consistent outlook and process is a far greater challenge. But by now bringing the teams together and helping them to work not just in the same place but in the same way, we are already seeing a significant increase in providing a slicker and more satisfying experience for brokers and borrowers alike.

Financial intermediaries are understandably protective about their clients, and rightfully so. They work hard to cultivate those relationships and provide them with the best possible advice and guidance. Inevitably there will be occasions when a client’s needs fall outside of what the adviser is most comfortable with, and so they will think carefully about which specialist to whom they can refer their client. Of course, they will only do so with firms they trust; specialists who they know will provide an exemplary level of service.

Over the years, we’ve built excellent relationships with advisers who are happy to refer their clients on to us should they need help with a second-charge loan, but may have looked elsewhere when it comes to clients for whom a bridging or commercial loan may have been more appropriate. Our new, joined-up approach should mean we can provide an alternative for those advisers the next time they have a client who require a wider range of specialist mortgage products.

And currently, there is no shortage of clients for whom that will be the case. The bridging market is an entirely different beast now from the days when it was thought of as something of a loan of last resort. There is now an incredible level of competition between some terrific lenders who have recognised the need to deliver top level service along with competitive pricing.

According to the most recent study from the Association of Short-Term Lenders, around 87% of bridging lenders expect their turnover to grow in the next six months, with more than three-quarters forecasting the turnover of the bridging sector as a whole to increase. It’s not difficult to work out why - the property professionals who make up a significant portion of bridging loan customers are chomping at the bit to expand their portfolios, even once the stamp duty holiday is a thing of the past.

This is a market that’s on the up, and financial intermediaries should expect to see far more clients in the months ahead hunting for bridging and commercial finance. And we look forward to putting our new structure to use, helping them and their clients to identify the right deals.

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