Fiduciam has received £430 million of requests for Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loans by the 15^th of October and expects to receive at least another £200 million of requests until the 30^th of November. As a result, Fiduciam has reallocated a substantial amount of our resources to handle the CBILS application volumes.

As an accredited lender we are here to help as many SMEs as possible with CBILS loans. During the Covid-19 crisis we continued to stand by our SMEs. We now want to give them a boost out of this crisis, with CBILS.

Fiduciam has just closed two development loans, with a total value of £2.5million, with one using its ‘Stepping Stone’ scheme. The two loans will provide funding for private developments in south London and on the south east coast. Fiduciam is standing by our house builders, providing them with development loan facilities in these challenging times.

The state of emergency is not stopping Fiduciam from lending in Spain.We are standing behind all Spanish entrepreneurs and SMEs in this difficult time, and have completed two loans this week totaling almost €2,5M. Both deals were halted as a result of the coronavirus crisis and had complex aspects that traditional banks could not overcome which Fiduciam was able to, even during the lockdown.

Thanks to our institutionally backed financing model and the commitment of our funding partners, we are able to keep helping small businesses and entrepreneurs in these difficult times. While many short-term lenders closed their doors, we have lent £9 million in the last week and are on target to close another £10 million of loans by the end of April.

The expansion of Fiduciam in Ireland continues at a good pace; it aims to lend €50 million in Ireland this year, it will be opening a Belfast office and has just hired another Irish case manager.

As another demonstration of the solution potential which bridging loans offer, Fiduciam has financed a complex cross-border loan with a transaction value of €10m in the student accommodation sector, involving the acquisition of two Luxembourg companies each owning a large German student home.

Fiduciam offered an innovate solution allowing the client to settle an unexpected HMRC demand rapidly.  It involved the refinancing of a portfolio of seven properties from which the client operates his trading businesses.  The transaction required close cooperation with accountants and tax advisors.

With the economy and real estate market of London strengthening, Fiduciam is putting additional efforts into its lending to London-based entrepreneurs and SMEs. Fiduciam is well known for its ability to offer solutions where banks are unwilling, as is demonstrated with an example in the article.

Following a very successful 2019 during which Fiduciam lent nearly €80 million into Spain, Fiduciam’s Spanish team explains how it is conquering Spain with its bridging loan solutions, from Catalonia to Andalusia and from the Canary to the Balearic Islands. More than tripling the amount in loans granted from 2018 to 2019, it aims to reach €100 million this year.

The void left by the traditional banks means that demand for Fiduciam’s loan product continues to grow across the UK and different European jurisdictions.  In October Fiduciam established a new monthly origination record, lending £43.5 million.

Fiduciam closed another large loan in Germany.  Six months after opening its Frankfurt office, Fiduciam is becoming well-known in Germany for short-term credit solutions.

Fiduciam accelerates its rapid expansion by hiring ten new employees during the Summer.  This follows on entering two new markets this year: Germany and Scotland.  Fiduciam announces it is right on track to meet its strategic objectives for 2019.

Fiduciam has expanded into Scotland and has now completed its first transaction north of the border.  A specific set of lender requirements and solicitors’ instructions was created for the Scottish market – including the creation of a ‘Scots law’ facility template and security documentation set. Given this, Fiduciam is now fully equipped to cater for the Scottish market based on local customs and aims to be the first port of call for any broker with a transaction to place in Scotland.

The rapid growth of the Spanish lending business at Fiduciam has led to the hiring of three new members to the Spanish team, taking the team to a total of eight.  Read more about this successful and all-women team in the lending press.  

Fiduciam has been selected as one of the three finalists for the “Equality Employer of the Year” award by Financial Reporter, together with Lloyds Banking Group and Hope Capital. In total there were 1,100 applications for the Women’s Recognition Awards across all categories.

Fiduciam has a team that is almost entirely fifty-fifty men and women with 21 male and 20 female employees.

Currently, women comprise 16% of Fiduciam’s senior management team, but with a number of very successful females in the firm, women will constitute at least a third of its management team within 18 months. 

Johan Groothaert, CEO of Fiduciam says, “We believe that diversity and inclusiveness in our workplace are conducive to a successful and dynamic business environment.  Women in Finance Charter is a fundamentally important initiative to broaden the diversity of financial services companies across the UK. The more companies sign up to initiatives such as these, the more it influences other firms to do the same thing, providing better career opportunities for women but also a better outcome for society as a whole.”

Fiduciam has granted a €5.7 million loan to enable a borrower to acquire a new office building and extend their portfolio in the Netherlands.

Since the opening of Fiduciam’s Dutch branch office over a year ago, they are seeing demand for their loan product.

The main banks in the country continue to reduce their commercial real estate loan books, which means there is demand that cannot be satisfied by traditional mainstream lenders. Fiduciam is filling this void, offering lower interest rates than the other alternative lenders in this sector.

For the first time ever, Fiduciam’s monthly loan origination in Spain surpassed the €10 million mark.  As a basis for comparison, Fiduciam originated €20 million of loans in Spain in all of 2018.  Fiduciam has also set a record in delivery time, it completed a €5.5 million loan to finance the development of 2 luxury villas In Marbella in only three business days after receiving the valuation.

Fiduciam once again proves its efficient and tailored approach by completing a €3m cross-border transaction secured against a French vineyard, including 77,422 bottles of wine and 2631 hectolitres of wine in barrels as security. The complex deal involved five jurisdictions and required a  specialist RICS surveyor to assess the value of the wine.

Fiduciam celebrated their Manchester office opening with the completion of a £9m development loan for a student accommodation in Northern England in a record time of six working days.

Fiduciam has hired Chris Parr to head up its new northern office. Chris has worked in bridge lending for over 12 years, having worked at both Precise Mortgages and Masthaven prior to working at Tuscan Capital, which he now leaves to join Fiduciam.

The Financial Intermediary and Broker Association’s drive to enhance lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has lead Fiduciam to become a lender partner of the association.

German SMEs, entrepreneurs and real estate developers now have access to Fiduciam’s bridging loan solutions, thanks to the new lending structure Fiduciam has established in Germany in cooperation with MHB-Bank in Frankfurt.

London-basedbrokers are getting a growing volume of requests for bridging loans from borrowers overseas as well as from UK borrowers in respect of overseas projects.  Fiduciam is well positioned to benefit from this trend.

Fiduciam’s branch in Utrecht, the Netherlands, has become a known fixture in the Dutch lending landscape since its opening a year ago.  As the high street banks continue to shrink their commercial loan books, Fiduciam offers a solution for many SME’s and entrepreneurs.   

Fiduciam is a founding member of Stichting MKB Financiering (SMF), promoting better standards in the Dutch alternative lending market.

Fiduciam has set its objectives for 2019, planning to double its lending by originating £250million (€280million / $320million) in new loans in the course of the year.  To achieve this growth, it will continue to grow its geographic coverage, introduce new loan products and make 25 hires.

Fiduciam is seeing strong demand for its loan products in Spain, intending to double its lending volume in Spain to €40 million in 2019.  Fiduciam fills a market gap, as Spanish banks are reluctant to finance property transactions by foreign nationals. 
At the same time the private banks, which would historically have provided such loans, have sharply reduced their cross-border loan products.

Lending to businesses can be rewarding. Fiduciam has been provided with a Christmas tree grown by the Irish farmer it lent money to earlier in the year. The Christmas tree, which is in pride of place in Fiduciam’s London office, was chopped down and flown back by Fiduciam’s own staff all recorded on video.

Fiduciam adds France to the list of countries where it can take security for its bridging, refurbishment, development, business and trade loans.

It granted a €5 million loan secured over a French real estate portfolio with the overall structure spanning three jurisdictions.

Fiduciam has lowered the interest rates on its bridging loans for residential property in the UK to 0.60% per month, the lowest rate that it has ever offered.

The rate will be available on loans from £250,000 to £25 million, at up to 60% LTV over a loan period of six months to three years.

Fiduciam’s loan enabled the borrower to refinance three UK care homes. Due to a Care Quality Commission (CQC) issue with one of the homes, the borrower had run into trouble with their high street lender who wanted to foreclose on their loan, despite the business still being in profit. The borrower stood to lose circa £8m in equity had the lender progressed a sale through administrators.

The Fiduciam loan allows the borrower to retain the business they have spent twenty years building and, in doing so, prevents the loss of numerous jobs and much-needed beds for patients.  It also gives the borrower enough time to restructure the business and put another long-term loan in place.

Bridging lender Fiduciam has kick started a rapid expansion drive and is on track to lend £150 million in 2018 up 200% from 2017. This continues a pattern of 100% year-on-year growth.

Having made six additions to its bridge lending team since the beginning of the year, Fiduciam is strengthening its business development capability by appointing Harry Hodell as a senior originator. Harry joins Fiduciam this week from Lendy Ltd., where he rapidly became a heavy hitter in the bridging industry as the first point of call for hundreds of mortgage brokers.

Fiduciam is also planning to hire a further fifteen industry professionals this year to enable it to satisfy growing market demand.  It lends for a duration of up to three years with no exit fees, typically in the £500,000 to £10 million range but it can consider loans of up to £25 million.  Fiduciam lends in the UK but also in Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

Fiduciam takes a different approach to many other bridging lenders, working with borrowers and their advisors to ensure that every loan results in a successfully completed project.  With over £100 million lent, Fiduciam has a 0% default rate and is gaining a reputation for bringing a new way of working to bridging finance, sitting down with every borrower to look at what could possibly happen on a project and make sure there are no surprises for a borrower. If a project takes longer than expected then Fiduciam works with the borrower to ensure the project is successfully completed thereby avoiding default interest.

Fiduciam is backed by institutional funding and whilst 60% of its loan book is represented by traditional products such as buy-to-let, refurbishment and conversion loans, the other 40% comprises loans to SMEs for working capital, expansion and acquisition finance.  Its integrated underwriting approach allows Fiduciam to react rapidly; in February it completed a £3.9million loan only ten business days after being approached.

Fiduciam works with a range of businesses and has seen increasing demand for its “business bridge” solutions in the manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, agriculture and food industry sectors.  It was also responsible for facilitating the launch of the new TVR sports car in September 2017, providing a funding line for both the factory and the development and manufacture of the car.

Johan Groothaert, director of Fiduciam commented: “Whilst having an advanced technology platform, our focus remains on traditional values such as understanding our borrowers and working closely with them to find the right solutions. Such an approach pays off both for the borrowers and ourselves and has resulted in our zero default rate to date.  We are excited to now have someone of Harry’s calibre join us to take our message to a wider client base.”

Harry Hodell explains: “The institutional funding model of Fiduciam and its borrower-centric DNA set it apart from many in the bridging lending industry.  I am looking forward to working closely with introducers and intermediaries to meet their clients’ needs and to expanding the number of introducers, significantly, over the next few months.

The new London premises increase the Fiduciam office space fivefold to accommodate the rapid growth of the London based team.  The new Fiduciam offices are just off Oxford Circus, the address is 5-7 John Prince’s Street, London W1G 0JN.

Fiduciam is proud to announce the opening of its Dutch office in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Fiduciam will move business development activities for the Dutch market to Utrecht, while the London office will remain in charge of underwriting the loans. The move will provide a regional base of operations to enable Fiduciam to better serve Dutch clients based in the Netherlands.

As part of the company’s rapid international expansion, the Fiduciam team will be further strengthened by Mr. Bardo van Hoogen in his new function of Country Manager for the Netherlands. Bardo van Hoogen brings over 15 years of experience and knowledge to Fiduciam. Previous roles include positions at RNHB (former subsidiary of RABO Bank) and the real estate divisions of Nationale Nederlanden and ING Bank.

Kenneth Duffy has joined Fiduciam from Pepper as Country Manager for Ireland, and Daniel Gutierrez has joined Fiduciam from RBS as Country Manager for Spain. They each bring 10 years of experience to Fiduciam.  These hires represent a major step forward for Fiduciam’s strategy to expand its business across the European markets and will strengthen Fiduciam’s unique positioning in both Spain and Ireland.

This morning, at the Goodwood Revival, TVR has unveiled its long-awaited new sports car.  Fiduciam is pleased to have partnered with TVR in putting a British icon back on the roads.

John Chasey, CEO of TVR said: “As an entrepreneur it is never simple to find finance these days, even when the principals come with a lot of experience and the business case is unquestionable.  Fiduciam made the difference for us, and their loan was one of the key components that made it possible to reach today’s important milestone of unveiling our new car”.

After one year of software development and implementation, Fiduciam has transitioned its lending business to a cutting-edge IT platform which provides a front-to-back marketplace solution with a highly scalable loan management system frequently used by challenger banks. ​This new solution streamlines and automates the origination and lifecycle processes, delivers major efficiency gains and permits to scale up lending activities in a controlled environment. The platform sets a new benchmark for marketplace lending and represents a very strong customer proposition, as Fiduciam’s clients will be able to witness.

Clint White has joined Fiduciam from Wellesley and has been appointed Head of Property Lending. Clint has held several senior roles at Wellesley since its establishment and has 12 years of experience in specialised property lending.

This hire represents a major step forward for Fiduciam, which has been going from strength to strength since it started lending in early 2015. Fiduciam plans to make further hires in the coming months to build out its underwriting capacity.

Fiduciam joins the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL).  This addition takes the ASTL’s membership to 33.  The ASTL also has 23 associate members.

Johan Groothaert, director at Fiduciam says, “Whilst entrepreneurs and small companies are the most dynamic part of the economy, generating wealth and jobs, nowadays it is often difficult for them to obtain loans from high-street banks, and we are pleased to assist in filling this gap.  In order to create a sustainable financing environment, it is important those loans adhere to the highest standards and that is why we are glad to join the ASTL, which has been championing the principles we fully subscribe to.  We look forward to creating strong working relationships with other members of the ASTL and sharing our own ideas, experiences and skills in order to make a valuable contribution to the association and help to shape the lending market.”

Benson Hersch, chief executive of the ASTL says, “The ASTL is pleased to welcome Fiduciam as its newest member.  Fiduciam brings fresh ideas, innovation, experience, knowledge and market intuition.  This new partnership adds to the growing diversity of the association and helps us to continue strengthening our commitment to raising industry standards.”

Fiduciam granted £27,372,389 of loans in 2015, helping entrepreneurs to grow their companies and to create jobs. This lending total exceeds Fiduciam’s 2015 objective and represents a successful end to Fiduciam’s first year of lending.

We have moved our London-based staff to our new offices at 29 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8HX (next to Portman Square). 

We successfully completed the incorporation of Fiduciam Nominees Ltd, our new lender of record, and Fiduciam Services Ltd, our new UK-based service company.

Fiduciam strikes an important partnership with MarketInvoice to purchase around £50m of invoices per year, up to £200m cumulatively; Fiduciam becomes the second-largest investor on MarketInvoice after the British Business Bank.