Mint looks to grow loan book ‘considerably’ in 2017
Bridging & Commercial caught up with Anthony Akka, head of legal at Mint Bridging, who explained how the lender plans to increase its loan book and expand its team.
1. What does your role consist of and what roles/experience have you had in the past?
My role mainly consists of case management of the legal transactions to facilitate the loans from inception to completion. This involves: the creation of the transactional instructions to our solicitors and the consideration of the underwriting aspects of the cases; and the management of the solicitors throughout the loan transactions to ensure matters are being handled expeditiously and any issues are dealt with appropriately. I follow the cases through to the full term and ensure registration formalities are complied with. I also liaise with brokers and borrowers throughout the transactions to help forge relationships going forward for future business. My previous roles fall mainly into the legal category: working in solicitor firms since 1984 both in Manchester and London. The legal areas varied from conveyancing, civil litigation, debt collection and probate. I also ran my own kosher delicatessen for 10 years, managing all aspects of the business. Prior to this, I oversaw a private landlord's property company, comprising a residential and commercial portfolio of circa £16m in all its aspects.
2. Did you always want to work in finance?
I had honestly never considered it previously. The role at Mint is an in-house legal counsel within the financial sector, so it’s more of legal rather than a specifically financial industry role.
3. What impact is Brexit likely to have on the bridging market?
It’s difficult to pinpoint as much depends on the value of property assets going forward, which will be subject to change due to factors such as financial exchange rates and foreign investment into the UK.
4. What is the one thing you would change about the bridging industry?
I often find that making progress with some of the borrowers and indeed their solicitors (who are not familiar with the bridging finance formalities and peculiarities), makes for intensive interaction with them and consistent management of their side of the transactions.
5. What makes a lender stand out from the crowd?
Lenders have the ability to underwrite effectively and complete deals expeditiously. From the borrower's perspective, they want their money and they want it quickly. So ultimately a good lender is one that is reliable, trustworthy, hand-holds the client to the end of the term and steps in when expertise is needed at any point. Then there’s assessing realistic valuations, ensuring the legalities are locked in place and the full team aims to have a happy client at the end. At Mint, we pride ourselves on these qualities and are renowned for them. It’s not just about running a business for profit, at Mint it’s about honesty, integrity and seeing a positive outcome for everyone.
6. What exciting projects does Mint have this year?
We’re looking to grow our loan book considerably during 2017, bring in more underwriters and BDMs to accommodate the demand, while maintaining our niche family values.
7. What are the biggest challenges for the bridging market this year?
Competitiveness and flow of decent deals are always a challenge to all lenders in the industry, including Mint. Our motto is: ‘We’d rather have a bad day than a bad loan’, and it’s ingrained in our daily work approach. Currently, we don’t see any bigger picture challenges, unless the government announces a new Brexit-related update that affects valuations. If that’s the case, then it’ll be business as usual, while our underwriting team will assess all client valuations at that time.
8. Explain the most interesting deal you have seen at Mint
We recently had a client with a hotel property in central London that partnered with an overseas borrower. This presented numerous problems and complexities. A number of checks had to be carried out in respect of the borrower company (based overseas) and an opinion sought regarding solvency and tax implications. The property itself presented various planning difficulties which had to be investigated, and the size of our intended loan required extensive underwriting and legal investigation. We have another case presently which involves very complex land titles and is proving to be very challenging. So much so that even the valuer is having difficulty defining exactly the extent of the property being lent on. This makes for issues should we ever need to repossess the property and sell it on.
9. What is your favourite part about the bridging industry?
The quick-fire nature of the transactions and the general levels of exhilaration are incredible. Clients are always on deadlines, some more on tighter crunch times than others, so the latter always tests the Mint team: is this a deal we want to take? What are the moving parts we need to address? And sometimes we need to address all these queries within just a few hours, even at weekends since Mint operates 24/7.
10. Who is your idol and why?
My dad, whose success I admire and seek to replicate. It’s still work in progress for me and I’m always looking to raise my own bar in achieving. I tend not to idolise others at it distracts me from what I want to accomplish. I do have a particular affection for the graffiti writer known as "Seen", as I’m a big art fan and this art is something I grew up with.
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