The development finance market is notoriously fragmented, filled with small, unregulated lenders who are happy to pick-up one-off business from borrowers by showing very competitive headline rates and then charge the unsuspecting borrower exorbitant penalty rates if for any reason the borrower gets delayed. So, it is not surprising that tech-powered regulated lenders like Blend Network are seen as a breath of fresh air by borrowers used to an infamously ‘old-fashioned’ market. Yet behind our award-winning technology[i], there is a lending team of highly experienced property professionals, many of whom are developers themselves. This is important because it means that our lending team understand how to structure a deal, they know what it means to develop a site and the potential challenges, they appreciate the risks but also the opportunities. In other words, our lending team speak property developers’ language and can put themselves into the shoes of property developers.
‘There is a personal touch you receive working with Blend that I feel isn’t possible with many other lenders. This alongside their funding model sets Blend apart from others.’
Indy Hothi, Blend Network borrower, Trustpilot review on 14 January 2021[ii]
Our lending team is formed of property professionals with solid experience in real estate development and lending. For example, Paul – our head of lending – joined Blend Network in 2019 after spending two years as a senior development finance originator at Octopus Property where he focused on large residential, mixed-use and PBSA schemes with GDV between £5,000,000 and £100,000,000. Before that, Paul worked for several heavyweight real estate firms such as Jones Lang LaSalle, RBS and a successful private property company. Dani – our senior underwriter – joined Blend Network also in 2019 after a career as a property developer where he used to build up to £15m GDV schemes in and around North London. Other members of our lending team include Barney Illes, who joined Blend Network from Capital Rise and who prior to that was a development origination manager at Octopus Real Estate, and Morgan Sparrow, our rising star lending associate and car-racing enthusiast.
Yet our lending team’s solution-focused attitude to lending is as important as their depth of property experience. This is one of the reasons many repeat borrowers keep coming back to us to fund their projects. Because we aren’t just lenders, we are solutions-focused lenders.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you fund your property projects, drop us an email today at enquiries@blendnetwork.com or give us a call on 020 3409 3300.
Your capital is at risk if you lend to businesses. P2P lending is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Investments are illiquid (the inability to sell assets quickly or without substantial loss in value). Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
BLEND Loan Network Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Reg No: 913456).
[i] Blend Network is the winner of ‘FinTech Business of the year 2021’ at the UK’s leading Tech Awards, the GoTech Awards.
[ii] Source: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/blendnetwork.com
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