The Best of Alternative Bridging 2023

2023 was a transformative, productive year for Alternative Bridging. We have had several staff promotions and new recruits this year. Our new Dealmakers film and campaigns have also been very successful and well received by the team and clients alike. We have made several improvements to our products, including our overdraft and term loan rate drop and the removal of the early repayment charge on our term loan. Our expo visits and internal events have also delivered some great results. In this blog, we look through some of our favourite moments from the year and look forward to seeing what next year has in store.

New recruits

In 2023 we were pleased to welcome some talented new people to our growing team.

Mike Halsey joined our sales team as an Internal BDM. His role was to help brokers find solutions for their bridging, commercial and development finance cases in the office-based role.

Shortly after we welcomed James Ansher to the team as Head of Property. In his new role, James has been supporting the company with his extensive experience and expertise in all things property. He has been successful at further enhancing our service delivery and drawdown times.

James McDonough joined the Alternative Bridging Sales Team for Merseyside. We were happy to welcome James on board with his experience both as a broker as well as for lenders. James now uses his experience to support brokers in the Merseyside region in finding the ideal property finance solution for their clients.

Claire O’Brien joined us in the summer of 2023 as Head of Underwriting. Building upon our reputation for providing quick decisions with accuracy, Claire has been able to structure clear solutions for complex cases.

We have experienced substantial growth and reinforced our teams through strategic appointments in key departments, including Case Management, Asset Management, and Finance & Operations. Our ongoing commitment to expansion involves the recruitment of top-tier talent, aimed at enhancing our ability to deliver unparalleled service to our brokers.

Staff Promotions

In addition to welcoming our new staff, we had several internal promotions this year. We find it important to allow the opportunity to reward staff for their efforts and to grow.

Earlier this year, Paul Gavin was promoted to the Head of Bridging Sales Northern Division. In his new role, Paul has been supporting the continued growth of the specialist bridging property lender leading the Northern team and guiding them with his expertise. Previously, Paul had joined Alternative Bridging in January 2022 as a BDM for the North of England.

Mike Halsey was promoted to the role of BDM, for Hertfordshire and Essex. He joined Alternative Bridging earlier in the year as an Internal BDM. Mike has been helping brokers in Hertfordshire and Essex to find bridging and term loan solutions for their clients. He also helps procure development finance for residential and commercial property use.

Daniel Smith joined Alternative Bridging in 2022 as an Internal Business Development Manager. He was recently promoted to BDM, covering the whole of the UK. In his new role, he has been aiding brokers in structuring made-to-measure specialist property finance solutions for their clients.

Product Updates

Swiftly moving on to product updates. We consistently try to improve upon our product offerings by enhancing our existing products by listening to our brokers’ needs and requirements. We have enhanced a couple of our offerings throughout this year and introduced a brand-new product.

The Launch of PartX Property Finance

Unveiled at the beginning of the year, PartX Property Finance is a part-exchange product that instils certainty and efficiency into the property market. This solution empowers developers to captivate more homebuyers, enabling them to swiftly move into their dream homes. Simultaneously, developers can finalise sales promptly and at full value.

Alternative Overdraft rate drop

The Alternative Overdraft is one of our most innovative facilities, allowing multiple drawdowns on demand. It is a valuable tool in any investor’s toolkit which is why we wanted to present the rate drop which tied in with our Halloween communications.

Re-launch of the Alternative Term Loan

In response to demand, we recognised that many people wish to repay their loans early when possible. As a result, we enhanced and relaunched our Alternative Term Loan with no early repayment charges (ERCs). The removal of these helps those who wish to repay their loan early, without the expense of additional repayment fees.

Due to the dynamic uses of term loans, the financial situation of the borrower is likely to vary over time. For example, your client may complete a property acquisition sooner than expected or experience changes in cash flow, so may wish to repay the loan early. In this situation, the Alternative Term Loan may be the perfect solution.

Campaign activity

At Alternative Bridging, we look at unique ways to stand out from the crowd. We are able to do this through campaigns that appeal to our broker audience by keeping them unique and interesting to look at. We executed three stand-out campaigns this year.

Summer Overdraft campaign

In the summertime, we launched our Alternative Overdraft summer campaign with a promotional video. The campaign promoted the product through the concept of a melting ice lolly, showing how property finance plans can melt away quickly. In order to stay cool when securing finance, the Alternative Overdraft offers a flexible secured loan facility that enables the client to access funds on short notice.

The Dealmakers

In the autumn we launched a fun, new creative video concept based on our BDM team being The Dealmakers. The video is based around Mission Impossible themes to highlight the specialist expertise of the team. The line “making property finance mission possible” was at the heart of the video.

Jonathan Rubins, Director at Alternative Bridging Corporation, commented: “Life might seem a bit impossible for brokers at the moment, as deals become more complex and getting them across the line gets harder. But it doesn’t have to be this way and our team of property finance specialists are on hand to help make the impossible, possible.”

The video was a fun project and yielded very positive feedback from the bridging finance industry. This light-hearted video made a serious point, highlighting the vital importance of providing outstanding, efficient personal service. We look forward to creating our next video.

Christmas promotion

For our Christmas promotion, we are pleased to announce that we will cover up to £2000 (including VAT) of valuation and lender legal fees.* This offer is available for all application forms submitted between 22^nd November to 31^st December 2023. We wanted to be playful with the promotion so to advertise it we used our sales team faces on a Santa driving a motorbike with a stack of presents. This promotion is available across all our products. For full details of this great offer, please click here.

Events

Reflecting on the past year, we take pride in the success of our broker events and expeditions. Throughout 2023, we hosted our own gatherings tailored to the unique needs of brokers. These events not only provided a platform for networking but also had open discussions about the current state of the market and strengthening the relationships with our brokers. The past year is proof of our commitment to a supportive environment for brokers.

NACFB Expo in Birmingham

We had a productive day at the NACFB Commercial Finance Expo in June. During the event, we were excited to present our very own Bridgewiser beer with its own bottle opener and showcase our bridging, development and specialist lending offerings.

The Finance Professional Show, London Olympia

In November we exhibited at the Finance Professional Show at the London Olympia. Following the launch of The Dealmakers, we wanted to create a cinema vibe for the stand. To do this, we utilised the theme from the video to use the imagery across our stand, shared the video and gave away blue popcorn for all to enjoy. This was found to be a great introductory talking point for networking at the show. Overall, the show was very productive, and we left with some excellent potential leads.

Staff social events

2023 was a fantastic year for social events within, and outside of the company. Annually, we host Wear It Pink Day in the office where the team all wear pink and we raise money for Breast Cancer. There were also plenty of parties and team-building events throughout the year to celebrate the achievements of our team. One such event was the annual Bridging & Commercial carnival-inspired awards evening which was a fantastic, vibrant event, celebrating the industry’s successes.

Looking forward

2023 was a transformative year for Alternative Bridging Corporation. Productive shows and events, new team members and product enhancements made it an important year for the company. As we look forward to 2024, we expect things to be even more exciting, bigger and better next year. With predicted changes in the economic climate, we expect next year to be challenging yet prosperous and we are ready to help secure the finance you need.

Why not send our experienced sales team an enquiry if you would like to learn more about our competitive, flexible bridging loans, overdraft, development finance, term loans and specialist finance options.

*T&Cs apply