March 2019
By Clint White, Head of Property Lending at Fiduciam
The world of bridging doesn’t have to be black and white. At the FP show last November, the question was asked as to what innovations the panel could foresee for bridging and short-term lending over the next year; the reply was that there is little innovation, just the same products badged differently.
At Fiduciam we don’t agree. While it is true that the majority of bridging lenders saturate a small segment of the market, we offer something different.
We do, of course, still offer the mainstream bridging loans for purchase, refinance, refurbishment, permitted development and auction finance; we also offer both development loans and development exit loans, but we are funded differently so we also offer so much more.
Where Fiduciam is becoming renowned is in two key areas: business lending and lending across Europe.
Helping your business clients to prosper
About half of Fiduciam’s loan book consists of a type of loan known as a ‘business bridge’. Whilst the security consists of real estate, the primary purpose of the loan is unrelated to property, but instead provides working or expansion capital to SMEs.
Fiduciam lends to companies in a wide variety of sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, agro-food, hospitality and entertainment.
Lending across Europe
Fiduciam is a pioneer exporting British bridge lending expertise to other European countries. The Fiduciam marketplace lending platform was set-up to cater for both UK and international business, and our current team of 35 combines 14 nationalities and speaks 12 languages.
We have lent against security in Ireland and the Netherlands since 2016. We bolstered our position in the Netherlands by opening a new office in Utrecht last February. We also launched into both Spain and France in 2018 and have opened a new office in Germany this year. We can also lend against property in Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Funding differences guarantee security
So how can we do this when it’s an area that most other bridging lenders cannot touch? The answer is that Fiduciam is institutionally funded and pension-fund owned. This provides a surety of funds and enables us to lend in other countries and in other currencies.
This model is working. While Fiduciam has been around since 2015 it has lent more than other lenders that have been around for much longer. 2018 was Fiduciam’s best year by some margin, granting new bridging and development loans worth £139million (€157million / $179million). And this is only the start.
Our objectives for 2019 are to double our lending - originating £250million (€280million / $320million) in new loans in the course of the year.
However, this is not lending at all costs. It has taken nearly three years to develop a very advanced technology and legal platform and Fiduciam has achieved this whilst keeping the business cash-flow positive, ensuring the sustainability of our growth model.
This year we intend to roll-out new, industry-defining, algorithmic technology increasing our case management and underwriting efficiency as well as recruiting at least 25 new staff. 2019 will be the year we make a substantial investment in human resources, with the focus being on university graduates and people early in their careers, to provide them with a steep growth path in the years to come. We have already hired ten new employees since the beginning of this year.
Fiduciam is still in the early stages of its development but is here for the long term and we hope to develop a strong and long-lasting relationship with the FIBA broker community.
To get in contact please visit www.fiduciam.co.uk email: contact@fiduciam.co.uk or phone: 020 3290 1933