Brokers, lenders and industry professionals descended from all over the UK to get involved in the two-day affair held at Olympia 2 in London.
Less than a minute after I had entered the building I had a Northern Rock freebie bag shoved in one hand and a bag full of sweets in the other – two of the many treats available at Expo. But the ‘freebies’ weren’t the sole reason for my attendance.
I just took a step back and watched the Expo in full flow for a few minutes.
I watched brokers stand face to face with lenders, while others were reacquainting with ex-colleagues and friends. I also saw some rival stands attempt to lure brokers with their free muffins, mugs and mortgage-themed goodies. Expo can be comical that way.
There was no doubt; Expo had been a success before it had even begun. It was in full swing from the moment the doors opened and filled the whole of the venue.
There were almost 80 exhibitors in attendance with organisers expecting around 2,000 delegates to pass through the doors over the two days.
I expected things to ease off considerably after lunch but that never happened. Several exhibitors told me the show had definitely been worth the trip, with plenty of good business done.
The highlight for me was the lender panel discussion between Barclays, Nationwide for Intermediaries, Northern Rock, Platform and GE Money Home Lending, clearly the key session of the day for brokers too, if the full audience was anything to go by.
I expected the Q&A section to get quite heated as it often can when brokers get the opportunity to question lenders. But to my surprise, there was no drama. Instead we got some insightful comments delivered from market experts who gave us their views of how far we have come as an industry and how much work we still have left to do.
As the Expo draw to a close I made my way to the local pub where I couldn’t walk two steps before bumping into someone I knew – another reason I love Expo.
I sat beside two brokers who were having fun comparing their ‘bag full of swag.’ But given the amount of alcohol that was flowing yesterday evening, I doubt the bags really made it home with them.
