FR: You’ve recently joined Glenhawk as managing director of sales and marketing. Tell us a little about your background, what attracted you to the opportunity and what your role involves.
I have been in intermediary sales across the investment and property finance markets for the last 16 years.
Having spent over eight years at Octane Capital as a BDM and subsequently sales and marketing director, where I had senior management responsibility for origination and marketing, I joined Glenhawk earlier this year.
My role is to lead the sales, product and marketing teams, and to shape and execute our commercial strategy. I was attracted to the role because of its broad scope and the opportunity to influence the full commercial picture.
FR: You’ve spoken recently about there being an “overarching feeling of uncertainty” in the market. What do you mean by that, and what are you seeing on the ground?
You can sense it in conversations with brokers, you can see it in the enquiries coming through, and you can feel it reflected in the decisions borrowers are making.
The property market, like any other, is governed by sentiment: by how borrowers and investors feel. Major geopolitical events have caused the markets to react. Swap rate volatility has led to rate increases across the buy-to-let and mortgage markets, as well as sudden product withdrawals, which, in turn, have caused borrowers to feel uneasy. The reaction to uncertainty is inaction, and that’s what’s being felt across the market at present.
FR: So, if uncertainty isn’t removing opportunity, where are you seeing it emerge?
Bridging has an important role to play in market conditions like those we’re seeing at present. In fact, turbulence in the mainstream market creates opportunities in the specialist space.
We’ve seen a drop in purchase activity, but a rise in other areas. For example, because the pace of sales is so slow, many borrowers need more time to market and sell their properties. Whether it’s refinancing an existing bridge, a buy-to-let that has come to term, a residential mortgage or development finance on a new-build site, using bridging to provide an extended sales window can be a useful solution to the problem at hand.
FR: One trend you’ve highlighted recently is the increase in conversion projects. Why do you think experienced developers are looking more closely at those opportunities?
I think there are probably a couple of reasons for that, and it’s important not to assume it’s simply because developers have become more cautious. In fact, many of the enquiries we’re seeing are coming from experienced developers with excellent track records who are simply assessing opportunities differently.
There is still a clear appetite for development, but developers are evaluating risk and certainty more closely before they reach the point of committing capital, and planning inevitably plays a big part in that conversation. When it comes to conversion projects, because many of them fall within the permitted development framework, they can often provide a more predictable delivery route than a completely new development. That certainly doesn’t mean they’re easier, because every scheme has its own construction, funding and delivery risks, but it can mean developers have greater visibility over planning certainty and their build costs.
I don’t think anyone is turning their back on ground-up development because that’s certainly not what we’re seeing. I simply think experienced developers are being even more disciplined in how they assess opportunities, and that’s probably one of the most noticeable shifts we’ve seen over the last year.
FR: You’ve also spoken publicly about lender funding. Why do you think brokers are paying much closer attention to that now?
Recent developments in our market have put a spotlight on bridging lenders and how they’re funded, and I actually think that’s a healthy development. Brokers are naturally asking more questions about the lenders they’re recommending, and that’s exactly what they should be doing because they’re placing their own reputation alongside those recommendations.
There are a number of different funding models across the specialist lending market, whether that’s warehouse facilities, forward-flow arrangements, institutional funding or private capital. Understanding how a lender is funded and, crucially, where in that structure the lending decision ultimately sits should be an important consideration for brokers.
FR: Looking ahead, what would success look like for you and for Glenhawk over the next 12 months?
An improved product set. We have excellent funding and a broad proposition, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.
One of the things Agnieszka Chmarowska – our superb product leader, who joined us earlier this year – and I have our sights set on is sharpening our competitive edge. We’re in the process of revamping our entire range, making improvements to every facet of the proposition while also launching into brand-new markets not previously explored by Glenhawk. The first of those changes will be made imminently, with the remainder being introduced in stages throughout Q4 and into the start of next year.
The market is quiet and competitive, which is a difficult combination. That said, our front-end activity remains strong. From our perspective, success means continuing to strengthen our proposition, continuing to invest in our relationships with brokers, and making sure we’re listening just as carefully as we’re lending.
