In the Spotlight with Kevin Flowerday, Head of Professional Lending at United Trust Bank

Commercial Reporter spoke to Kevin Flowerday, Head of Professional Lending at United Trust Bank, about why professional lending is necessary.

Related topics:  In The Spotlight,  Commercial,  Commercial finance
Kevin Flowerday, Head of Professional Lending at United Trust Bank
19th January 2015
kevin flowerday utb

CR: UTB recently launched a new short-term professional lending product - when should brokers consider this product and why?

Working capital financing can be required anytime by a professional firm, especially when the debtor book continues to build and the collection of these amounts just aren’t keeping pace. But the biggest requirement by far is the build up to January when the balancing partner tax payments are due to HMRC. Following on from the Christmas period where collection of cash is always at its slowest point partnership tax can be a major headache on top of those festive hangovers..

CR: Why do you feel professional lending is a category that is necessary?

It’s a bit like asking a school principle “why do you feel maths teachers are necessary to teach mathematics” – The professions sector can be a complex environment: recent legislative changes in the legal sector, growing number of Alternative Business Structures, medical practises NHS funding, the list goes on. When a professional firm wants to apply for funding they need to deal with organisations that understand the market they operate in, how they account for their business and, in turn, make the correct decision based on what works for all parties. If you don’t have a specialist then, to use the maths comparison again, there is a chance they’ll spend too much time on the spelling of “Archimedes’ Squaring of Parabola” rather than what is calculates..
 

CR: What do you feel is the most important thing for brokers to know about professional lending?

The professions sector, more than most, buy into long term relationships with partners that can add real value to their business by understanding what they do. I’ve worked in this market for over a decade and the brokers who really know their client, introduce them to the specialist funders at the right time, for the right product, that build long relationships, good annuity income and get referred to more transactions than they can generally uncover themselves.

CR: How does the way UTB approaches lending stand out?

The professional lending division is built on the same values as our asset finance and property finance divisions. We have a pedigree of offering unrivalled support to our broker partners, quick informative credit decisions, and all from a bank that deals only with brokers. You’ll know your valued client relationships are always in safe hands with us.

CR: What advice would you give to anyone looking to start up in the industry?

Network as much as you can – the professions sector wants to know you know about their market and their business, not how many funding lines you have. A broker who understands the market and has a few well-chosen funding partners will always be more successful that one who has a database of 9,000 law firms, a telephone and 10 funders but with little market apathy. Do your homework (back to the school reference again…).

More like this
Latest from Property Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 30,000 intermediaries and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.