Which locations and how many advisers and broker firms do you cover in your role at Kseye?

I currently cover London brokers based in the city and the South East. All brokers within that region are covered by me, so please feel free to reach out if you’d like to work with us in the future.

 

What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?

I’d say every business development manager (BDM) has their own individual style, but to do the role well you need to have a mix of personal skills (working well with clients, brokers, credit, underwriters, solicitors, etc), an understanding of the bridging products, problem-solving skills to structure deals and restructure deals when needed, and determination to deliver on time scales/service.

I’d like to think that my main strength in this role is that people know when they deal with me it’ll either be a quick no or, if we say we can do it, I will get the job done (or at least do everything possible).

 

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What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?

There’s always room for improvement – I’d say you can always work on how you handle pressure or when deals don’t go as planned. There’s always challenges and hurdles to overcome in work and life, and being composed throughout is usually the best approach.

 

What’s the hardest part of your job?

I’d say navigating the product alignment with a changing market over the last few years has been the biggest challenge and, more recently, valuations on refinances. That said, part of the job is finding ways to make deals work for all parties in different environments – and that’s what we aim to do at Kseye.

 

What do you love most about your job?

I enjoy that no two days are the same in bridging finance. There’s always a different deal to work on, a variety of interesting brokers and clients to spend time with, or new locations to be in. I enjoy being given relatively free rein to deliver on targets.

Kseye is a great lender to work for in terms of being clear on the targets and requirements and then allowing BDMs to go and deliver on those targets. Ultimately, the best part of working in any financial sales role is helping clients achieve their financial requirements while hitting your personal targets.

 

What’s the best bit of career-related advice you’ve ever been given? Who gave it to you?

I’ve worked for a number of lenders over the years and have a lot of respect for the owners and managers I’ve worked for. I’ve learned a lot from all of them.

If I was to summarise, it’s a combination of teamwork is always necessary to go far, work hard as an individual but also work smart, and be consistent. Also, especially when you’re starting out – there’s no such thing as a stupid question and you learn the most from your mistakes.

 

How do you keep up to date with developments in the market?

I’m generally interested in the economy, politics and investing, so I naturally spend time reading/listening to a mixture of financial information sources. Many lenders regularly put out specific property market content and I’m always speaking to brokers/clients who share their perspectives. LinkedIn is also a key tool for our industry.

What is the most quirky/unique property deal you’ve been involved in?

Kseye is a lender that tries to make deals work, particularly in major cities and the home counties. We lend on both residential and commercial with very few limitations on property type.

Recently completed on a mixed-use large developer exit deal with 53 residential units and a number of commercial units on the ground floor. Two of the three clients were foreign nationals with no time to come to England to sign documents.

Fortunately, at Kseye we allow clients to sign legals abroad, so this stumbling block was averted. The client wanted to keep some of the sales proceeds in order to move on to their next project and we were able to put this together to the benefit of both parties.

At Kseye, we’re equally as adept at completing a standard auction purchase deal as we are a very large transaction at £50m.

We’ve completed on a number of below-market-value purchases where we’ve funded 90% of the purchase price. We’ve also completed on a fair few residential purchases with the lease extension taking place simultaneously to completion – we can lend against the uplifted day one value with the lease extension to provide additional funds for the purchase and lease extension.

 

Tell us about your trickiest case – what happened and how did you resolve the problem(s)?

With all our deals, the underwriter, case manager and myself as BDM will work closely with the broker and client throughout the process, so should any issues arise, they can be discussed and worked through quickly.

Kseye has an in-house legal team, so should any issues arise during the legal process, these can be addressed straightaway. Should a case stall, we arrange a meeting or Teams call with all parties to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Once the deal has been presented to and approved by credit, the main issues, if any, tend to arise once the valuation has taken place. At this stage, a deal may require a slight restructuring – i.e., part-retained, part-serviced interest, an adjustment to loan to values (LTVs) or the inclusion of additional assets.

We recently assisted on a below-market-value purchase of 10 residential properties in the South West, and due to a slight down valuation, we were able to restructure the deal to include a first charge on a commercial asset owned by the client along with a second charge on their main residence.

 

What was your motivation for choosing this career?

I always wanted to work in the city/finance, which is why I went to university and studied economics. After university, I fell into an in-house sales role in property finance and, eight years on, I’m still here and enjoying it.

If you could do any other job in the property sector, what would it be and why?

I think the long-term goal is to acquire income-generating assets – so, ideally, managing my own property/asset portfolio.

 

What did you want to be growing up?

It started off as Tarzan when I was a kid, then a zookeeper, then a vet – I think the theme is I like the outdoors and animals. Otherwise, the standard response is a footballer. I enjoy most sports. Kseye has a decent football team, so if there are any broker firms who want a game, feel free to get in touch.

 

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

I think time travel would be quite a good one. I think a fair few people would have fixed their mortgages at 1-2% for 10 years if they could have seen the base rate increase ahead of time.

 

What is your strategy for tackling challenges?

I think it’s just a case of being as logical as possible and trying to see the challenge from everyone’s different perspective. Control what you can control and then go from there.

 

What is your greatest skill(s), either work- or non-work related?

I would say I’m ambitious and have high standards for myself and the people around me. I think this lends itself well when working in a client-facing role where delivering on service is important for brokers and clients.

 

And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?

What do you put in a toaster?