Mortgage Introducer April 2021

When it comes down to it, a financial intermediary is wholly reliant on the number of funders that they have available at any one time. The wider the range the more likelihood of success, the fewer they have access to, the more limited the opportunities  become for them and their customer.

This also applies to sectors of operation, working as a broker in just one part of the financial world with which you are very familiar, when it contracts will leave you without any viable alternatives. Therefore, being more holistic in your approach creates more opportunities, not only to create an extended range of customers, but also to extend the range of products for an existing customer base.

There has been a strong demand for more information and access to specialist property funding products over the last couple of years highlighted by the substantial growth in the amount lent in this market. There has been a growing confidence in the use of, for example, short term lending to satisfy a customer’s immediate expectations.

It is on this basis that a new initiative came to market this week to provide more exposure for those funders who are reliant on intermediated business as their regular source of new business acquisition.

The Financial Intermediary and Broker Association has partnered with our sister company, SimplyBiz Mortgages, the third largest mortgage club in the UK, to launch a brand-new industry initiative. SimplyBiz Mortgages ‘Specialist Property Finance Club’ powered by FIBA offers advisers and brokers access to a full range of commercial lending products, where from the outset this will include bridging loans, development finance, commercial mortgages and specialist buy to let, from a select number of lender partners at FIBA.

Our  membership doubled in 2020, and following the addition of Barclays as a Lender Partner in February, we now have a number of new Lender and Professional Partners joining FIBA over the coming weeks and months, who will be able to benefit from this new initiative through 202.

The ‘Specialist Property Finance Club’ aims to enable easier access to specialist property finance products for both SimplyBiz Mortgages and FIBA members.  It will offer the opportunity to benefit from exclusive arrangements and enhanced procuration fees, alongside exclusive access to specialist lenders and their products, where for the Members of SimplyBiz Mortgages. these lenders and their products have not previously has been available.

The launch took place initially with twelve lenders from the FIBA partner panel, all of which have undertaken the relevant due-diligence process, and been selected to provide the full range of commercial property finance.   The Club will be welcoming further FIBA lender partners onboard over the next twelve months to expand the opportunities available, with further announcements to follow.

The interest in Specialist Property Finance has been one of the main drivers in the association’s membership doubling in 2020. The demand across the SimplyBiz Mortgages membership for access to  lender partners at FIBA has meant that the creation of the Specialist Property Finance Club was important at a time when there has been such a growing interest in the sector. This new partnership innovation from SimplyBiz Mortgages and FIBA has been embraced by the launch lenders, with the ability for a wider intermediary community to introduce new customers supported by specialists in the commercial sector.

There has been a huge amount of investment in time and resources at FIBA over a number of months to give access for the first time a Specialist Finance Club. Whilst creating this additional innovative method of accessing the commercial lender and funder community, we can see that there is the opportunity to benefit from broker enhancements alongside the ability to access some of the Lender Partners, that previously may have been not possible, directly.

Martin Reynolds, Chief Executive of SimplyBiz Mortgages, added his thoughts by saying ‘many firms have taken the opportunity to diversify over the past 12 momentous months, we are excited to bring a unique opportunity to market. SimplyBiz Mortgages members now having the ability to access to a number of lenders specialising in this highly defined lender area, who can offer a variety of solutions for their client requirements will add another strength to their proposition.  Whilst some of the lenders who are part of the launch of the Club, will be familiar to our members, others could potentially be new and therefore offer new and innovative solutions for client requirements.’

This is just an example of how innovation is going to be a major part of the interaction between all groups involved in commercial finance over the upcoming years. We have seen the wide range of new lenders come to the market since 2009 and how they have benefitted UK SME’s. There are a number of new SME banks, both already with licences granted and also those already with applications in with the PRA. Therefore, any help we can give to the customer in sourcing our broker and funder community, the greater help we can give to a recovering economy.