Bridging & Commercial Distributor caught up with Gary Latham, owner of UK Property Finance, to find out more about the broker’s expansion plans.

What does your role consist of and what roles/experiences have you had in the past?

I am the founder and owner of UK Property Finance, which is a directly Financial Conduct Authority authorised and regulated master broker/packager that specialises in niche, property-related finance products, such as bridging, development, commercial and equity-release mortgages. Our main trading style is bridgingloans.co.uk. We also lend our own funds via a separate sister company UK Bridging Loans.

I am responsible for the day-to-day running and longer-term strategy for the business and the management of our highly experienced team. I strongly believe that a key part of successful management is listening to and acting upon customer feedback. At the moment, I call the clients after each completed case in order to gain their perspective of working with UK Property Finance. The information obtained is invaluable and used in monthly training sessions to ensure continuing improvement.

We also use external reviewers and I am pleased to say that we consistently rank between ‘very good’ and ‘excellent’ on all levels of service.

I was in a completely different industry prior to my involvement in the finance sector, and have been employed in a number of senior directorial roles within relatively large corporations.

Did you always want to work in finance?

I have always had a keen interest in the financial services industry and believe in the old adage that “money makes the world go around”. 

Why did you decide to start the company UK Property Finance?

I had always harboured a desire to set up my own business, and as finance and property were my passion, in 2003 I took the steps to make it happen by opening an estate agency and separate finance company, World of Mortgages. Both businesses grew well and continued to trade successfully throughout the credit crunch and up to the present day. World of Mortgages has now successfully morphed into UK Property Finance and I sold the estate agency in June 2014.

What one thing would you change about the bridging industry?

I think the creditability of the bridging loan market has improved hugely since my initial involvement, however, the procedures established to enable this may have an adverse effect on transaction speed. A huge amount of time is lost, particularly once an offer reaches solicitors, so if a solution could be found, the benefits all round would be immeasurable.

In such a crowded market, what qualities does a bridging lender need to have to stand out?

As I mentioned, time is of the essence as speed is often the reason that borrowers require bridging finance in the first place. When compiling comparison quotations, we always highlight lenders that can complete quickly even if, on occasion, the interest rate charged is slightly higher than those of the other quotations.

What exciting projects does UK Property Finance have this year? 

We have recruited three BDMs this year to locate new areas for lead sources outside of those generated through our main website and intend to increase the numbers further to improve our already good coverage.

We have also recently purchased the domain name www.developmentfinance.com. Our marketing team and I will be working hard to quickly move the website into the top internet search positions for this domain. We are still in negotiations for other similarly relevant domains and expect to have more purchases in the coming months.

What is the biggest challenge for the bridging market this year?

Uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum. Whether you chose to stay or go, the decision has now been made and I believe we just need to get on with “business as normal” and stop talking ourselves down.

Explain the most interesting deal you have seen at UK Property Finance.  

Every case is different and has its own challenges. On top of our other products and own lending, we are currently processing an above average amount of bridging cases per month, all of which have their own story to tell.

Last week, we completed a £3.5m re-bridge for a property investor client. He was nine months into the current 12-month bridge we had previously arranged for him, which was used to purchase a large office complex in the Midlands. To obtain the best possible rate, we had raised the funds required across residential investment properties that he owned in the capital. While performing our standard courtesy call three-months prior to the end of the initially agreed loan term, our client informed us that the agreed exit had unfortunately not materialised due to a very unfortunate set of circumstances not of our clients making. Our client was exemplary in all respects and the security assets were prime, so rates were important. Our client was also now well into his 70s and at an age above the maximum threshold adopted by many lenders in the current climate.

As experienced bridging finance professionals with numerous quality contacts, we had an immediate understanding of what was available and with whom. We whittled the interested lenders down before making our choice. We worked hand in hand with the chosen lender to achieve a very successful outcome for all parties and, importantly, a five-star rating from a very happy client, who now has a new £3.5m, 12-month loan and ample time to repay via his new strategy.  

What is your favourite part about the bridging industry?

It is a fact that without bridging finance, a large swathe of property-related financial transactions simply would not happen.

My favourite part of the business, however, is probably the most common part, ie an older person looking to sell their long-term home and prized possession, so they can trade down to a smaller more manageable property. Due to the sentimental attachment to the current residence, clients in this situation often do not want to sell up and move on the same day, but instead prefer to take the time required to adjust to what is a momentous move on their behalf. As the clients are normally of an age where traditional forms of finance are not available, and they do not have the required finances to reach current-day affordability requirements, bridging finance is without doubt the perfect solution for them. It allows the new home to be purchased and personalised, while the current property is sold in a calm, organised and relaxed manner and with the minimal amount of stress and fuss. On completion, our clients in this position are extremely appreciative of our input that helped them achieve their required goal.

With UK Property Finance, we have access to finance for any age group and as this is probably the biggest part of a fragmented market, our staff have been specifically trained in supporting older clients during this potentially emotional transition. This is invariably what clients mention the most in many messages of appreciation. 

Who is your idol and why?

I do not have one single person, but I genuinely hold my team in the highest regard. I am proud of the continual dedication that they each show in ensuring every client has the best possible experience when dealing UK Property Finance.