Commercial lending will give brokers ‘edge’, say broker directors

Director Tom Hawley said: “In terms of going into different loan products or areas, I'm sort of becoming a little more attracted to try and get into the commercial side of things. Mainly because I think residential mortgages will become more and more digitised in the next couple of years, especially.

“I think we're on a bit of a change in the market at the moment, where someone with an individual loan and a well-capitalised property… can really just be done, or will be able to be done, electronically pretty quickly.

“As soon as their decision-making process can be eroded by computers, then it just makes it a bit of a more difficult landscape and environment to operate, whereas commercial work does really… require more of a human element,” he added.

He concluded: “I think that's really where, in the future, brokers will have a bit more of an edge. And also, obviously, advising more complex clients, when it's not just about a single security.”

Director Ben Hawley added that commercial offerings would be a key point of differentiation, as the “lower end of the market is getting harder and harder to add [value to]”.

He said: “There's also a lot less regulation in the commercial space as well. You're dealing with, you know a more sophisticated people [so] it's going to be easier.”

Tom Hawley concluded: “We're [Azura Financial] not there yet, but I think we need to start focusing on it more and I think everyone needs to really.”

However, Ben Hawley warned that “you can’t be a jack of all trades”. He said: “I think car finance is something that's quite simple. And a good added service to clients, but I think if you're wanting to really target, the business side of it, you've really got to immerse yourself in an industry and target a specific industry and make yourself known in that industry.

“If you're spending too much time doing the resi stuff, and you know, a bit of the commercial property investment stuff, there's not enough time left to actually properly immerse yourself in it and to really understand that industry… You can't sort of be a jack of all trades.”

Touching on the fact that commercial property, for example, is a lumpier process Mr Ben Hawley said that there was greater chance of a deal “falling over”.

“So,” he said, “I obviously think you need that little bit of resi stuff, a bit of bread and butter.

But, unless you've got in that asset space, for example, you've built up some clients where there are consistently renewing assets and consistently rolling stuff… I think it's a hard one to break into.

“I think you've got to make moves… Really dedicate yourself to that and change. [And] it's hard 'cos you're going to lose a lot of income while you transition.”