Matt Mawdesley (pictured, second from left), CEO and co-founder of Morpheus Lending – which launched to market last year – said reaching that target would be “heading in the right direction” and it was looking to bring out buy-to-let (BTL) and commercial term products later this year so it can do the bridge and the exit.
He added that it was looking to raise additional funds from institutions, increase its broker platform and plug in to sourcing systems to “scale up”.
Outside of its co-founders, there are eight people at the firm, with Mawdesley saying it was planning to hire more to its underwriting team along with its broker and technology team.
He said the reception from brokers has been “really strong”, noting that they are “impressed with the system, efficiency, speed and ease at which it is to get a decision in principle (DIP) from us”.
Mawdesley noted that it had currently onboarded around 14 brokers, adding that the “plan is to work with like-minded brokers”.
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“It’s about finding the right fit with the right people in terms of networks and clubs, but we will not go down that path just yet, primarily because we’re small and when you open yourself up to that level of volume, it’s a mature play when you are larger,” Mawdesley said.
He noted that the underwriting process, if all the information is to hand, takes five minutes, which, along with its commerciality and flexibility in terms, has “come across really well”.
Mawdesley said it had more transactions in the pipeline, having completed its first transaction in May, and was “starting to quickly ramp up”, with the aim to get double figures of transactions in month one.
“I don’t think vanilla cases in bridging is a thing. I think it’s a myth; each case has had its nuances. What it’s really done is it’s tested our operational processes, the technology is working well from an operational and a human perspective.
“It’s really tested our policies, our processes, our procedures, our internal things that we’ve spent a lot of time building, which I think is a good thing. The irony of not having straightforward transactions early doors is it really tests where our barometers are internally, and they’ve stood up to the test, which has been good from a technology perspective,” he said.
He added that its technology allowed it to act on broker feedback quickly, which can be actioned in days.
Mawdesley noted that it currently had one set of lawyers on the platform and was going to add a few more in the coming months, with plans to launch dual representation to help “speed up the process”.
Tech means bridging process is ‘quick, streamlined and efficient’
Outlining the platform, Mawdesley said it is a “bank-encrypted system that allows the customer, the broker, us as the lender and then the conveyancer all to operate a transaction on one digital interface into that system that we’ve custom-built along with Nivo”.
“We’ve then plugged in about 12 different pieces of technology, typically via API… which then facilitates the collection, augmentation and review of data,” he added.
Examples of plug-ins include Onfido, Credit Safe, True Layer,Experian and Equifax.
Mawdesley added that it had also built its own automatic valuation models (AVMs), created its own product that allows it to connect to the Land Registry gateway, and has DocuSign throughout the whole process.
“What that ultimately means from a customer and a broker perspective is that the end-to-end process to get to transaction with us is quicker, it’s more efficient, and it is completely paper-free.
“Our USP is that, compared to other lenders, there is zero paper through our process, and it is a far more quicker, streamlined and efficient process to get a bridging loan with Morpheus,” he said.
Mawdesley said it would “look at everything, and if we can make a transaction work, we will”.
“Some of the things that have started to separate us from other lenders out there is our fllexibility, such as being hapy to fund 100% of below-market purchases when we can take on additional security, be that an asset or a piece of land,” he added.
Lenders copying tech strategy will benefit industry and consumers
Mawdesley said he hoped people copy its technology-driven strategy, noting that technology adoption in the specialist lending sector over the past decade has “not been where it should be”.
“The reason we set up this business in the way we’ve done it, and the reason we took so long to come to market, is we wanted to build the right products and the right infrastructure.
“If that means that other people start to copy this, my view is it is to the betterment of the entire industry and, who ultimately matters, the end consumers. I’m all for people adopting technology and moving to a more efficient space, from an operational perspective.
“I think the people that benefit from this will be customers and brokers, and that’s the whole reason we should be here,” he noted.
