July 2024 Commercial Lending Blog
The 2024 NACFB Commercial Finance Expo at the NEC Birmingham was another successful event. Our Commercial Lending team had a productive day reconnecting with familiar faces and building new relationships.
In this month’s blog, the Commercial Lending team talk us through some of their highlights and key takeaways from the day.
Reflections and key takeaways from the 2024 NACFB Expo
One of the highlights of the Expo for us is being face-to-face with our network, building on our existing relationships and creating new connections. Nothing tops being able to get into the same room as likeminded lenders, brokers and borrowers to talk about the industry and how Hodge can help.
Market opportunity
A major consideration at the time of the Expo was the General Election and while the leading party was never really in question, what the focus of the new Government will be was regularly debated and will be very closely monitored.
A significant opportunity exists across both commercial investment and development finance and it was great to discuss some of these potential opportunities during the day and identify areas where Hodge can add significant value to the process.
Not everyone is aware of Hodge and what we offer in the real estate finance space and the NACFB Expo presents a valuable opportunity for us to meet new people and build new relationships for the future as we share our focus and how we can help identify lending solutions.
Market challenges
Despite the well documented challenges in the development market, the feeling from the floor was much more optimistic than 12 months ago.
Finance costs remain stable and the reduced inflation rate to circa 2% presents encouraging signs of a Base Rate cut in the near term, which has the potential to further build optimism around development activity. Challenges exist but they also present some significant opportunities.
Common questions
It’s clear there’s an opportunity for Hodge to continue raising awareness of who we are and what we offer in the real estate finance space. The most common questions the team received were around development finance and how we can work with brokers and borrowers to find suitable lending solutions. This is very positive and leads to further optimism about the development finance market.
Advice for clients and brokers seeking Development Finance
The best advice we can offer is to be well prepared. Having a clear plan in place is crucial to obtaining development finance in a timely manner. We work closely with brokers and developers to build a trusted and honest relationship and gather the information we need to fully support your property developments and ensure they progress smoothly.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can support your property development goals, please get in touch with the commercial lending team by emailing [email protected].
If you’d like to speak to us before then please get in touch with the commercial lending team or email us at [email protected]