Speaking to Mortgage Solutions, Marylen Edwards (pictured) said its commercial mortgage business was progressing similarly to its buy-to-let (BTL) proposition, which was unveiled in 2022. This expansion of its mortgage arm continues to be backed by MT Finance’s signature approach to lending.
Edwards said the last four years at MT Finance had been a “whirlwind”.
She added: “We launched our BTL proposition, followed by our commercial offering. We obtained triple-A ratings from the ratings agency early in our journey and completed three securitisations in the last 18 months. We’re evolving rapidly, but in a good way, with each change introduced gradually so that we can perfect it before moving on to the next.”
She added that the company is in no rush to launch new products but would do so as and when the right situation presented itself.
Edwards said: “There are additional things we can offer within the commercial and BTL sector, but we will bring them in as we feel the need to.”
Conversations you need to have with landlords before the Renters’ Rights Act
Sponsored by BM Solutions
For now, the lender will focus on building relationships, onboarding new brokers and bringing attention to its proposition.
In recent months, MT Finance has recruited business development managers (BDMs) specifically for its mortgage arm covering BTL and commercial – this has enhanced the lender’s ability to strengthen engagement with advisers.
Service and speed
MT Finance has a “good reputation” shaped by its service delivery, Edwards said.
She added: “Service is really key to us at MT Finance as we grow and recruit more staff. It is important to us that we maintain the service DNA that is expected of us, as we efficiently manage our broker relationships, ensuring that our business volumes remain solid with our external partners.”
Adaptability is also key to the lender, and MT Finance has accepted some commercial cases that “surprised people”, Edwards said, commending its “supportive funder” for agreeing to exceptions within reason and taking a view on cases where it makes commercial sense. This has, in turn, boosted word-of-mouth promotion for their latest proposition.
MT Finance prides itself on progressing applications quickly, with Edwards adding: “One of our USPs is the speed at which we do things. Traditional banks tend to take anything from four to six months to get to completion on commercial cases. We did our first three or four deals within eight weeks and continue to work within much shorter time frames.”
Edwards said its “proactive” completions team facilitated this, as well as its streamlined solicitors panel, made up of firms that have a good relationship and work well with the lender.
She added that the lender was constantly fine-tuning and enhancing its technology systems; however, there is still an element of manual process due to the specialist nature of the cases and transactions.
Aiming for growth
Discussing the market, Edwards said BTL was “resilient”, “buoyant” and “landlords will always transact”.
“Landlords dip in and out of the market; they diversify, they are resilient, finding solutions when challenges are thrown at them. They find ways to move forward to ensure regulation doesn’t become a stumbling block,” she added.
This is reflected in the business MT Finance is doing as the lender is seeing more semi-commercial applications from both BTL and commercial landlords.
Internally, the plan for MT Finance is “to continue to grow, to keep strengthening our relationships and to adapt our offering in BTL and commercial as, and when, opportunities arise,” Edwards said.
She said any changes would likely come at the start of Q3.
