Founded by a prominent figure in the sector, the company is gearing up for a busy year ahead
Stephen Thomas (pictured), already a well-known name in Canada’s commercial mortgage space, said that prospects for the sector appear strong as he launched Halo Advisory Inc., an independent mortgage brokerage offering commercial services to property owners, brokerages and real estate professionals.
Speaking with Canadian Mortgage Professional, Thomas – who described himself as a “businessman first and mortgage broker second” – said that he had realized the ability to service an important segment with the establishment of the brokerage, touting the professionalism and experience that his new company would bring to the table.
“Our team is comprised of people that used to work for and run the commercial banks of the country. There aren’t many more qualified people out here doing what we’re doing,” he said.
“I think our competitive advantage is that we have people who wrote policies; people who used to approve and decline commercial deals at the bank and large luxury residential deals.
“When you have that kind of talent in house, you definitely have a class above the competition that’s never even spent a day in commercial banking.”
The brokerage’s lending programs will include full service commercial brokering, jumbo residential mortgages, simple referral program and strategic partner opportunities.
It aims to cultivate an overtly commercial environment that gives mortgage professionals the opportunity to deal with individuals who operate exclusively on the commercial side.
Read next: Commercial mortgages – what will happen in the space this year?
Thomas said that it would allow brokers to complete more complex lending transactions in the commercial realm, as well as offering further partnership opportunities with clients and business partners.
“I really want to create a pure commercial environment where commercial brokers, clients and industry professionals can have people who walk, talk and speak the same language,” he explained, “and understand what it takes to close a commercial deal.”
The new brokerage consists of “generalists” in the commercial sector, Thomas said, with experience and competence in all asset classes. It’ll focus mostly on transactions between $5 million and $20 million, a space that’s usually too small for capital markets but too large for mainly residential brokers without expertise to prioritize.
Its main specialty is owner-occupied industrial land development – “anything that’s a little bit more complex than the average,” according to Thomas.
“Everyone does the apartment buildings, but we do all other asset classes like offices, retail plaza, hotel banquet halls, film studios – that’s kind of our bread and butter,” he said.
Thomas, who will serve as the company’s principal broker and CEO, has quickly etched a name for himself in the mortgage industry, chalking up multiple CMP awards including places on the Rising Stars list in 2020 and on the Hot List in 2020 and 2021.
His previous experience in the banking world included stints at Royal Bank of Canada and BMO Financial Group, the latter of which he represented as a commercial account manager in Toronto.
Currently, Halo Advisory is based mainly in Ontario, although it’s set for imminent expansion across the country with a Calgary broker being onboarded and discussions ongoing with partners in British Columbia and beyond.
Read next: Early signs of strong 2022 market: lending giant president
The fact that Thomas has been a national broker for some four years also gives the company a leg up, he said, with contacts across Canada through his prior experience in the industry.
Opportunities are rife in the commercial space in 2022, with Thomas also noting a chance for Halo to dip its toes into the residential market when dealing with commercially focused clients.
“One of the things we started doing was luxury residential,” he said. “We did an $8.5 million residential mortgage, and I had to ask myself a question: ‘Why is it that commercial brokers don’t really do residential?’ We made a nice business for ourselves doing the residential mortgages for commercial clients.”
Thomas’s time in commercial banking, when he often had to get involved with the bank in clients’ residential mortgages, showed him the potential of that approach in the broker channel – one that could gain traction for the company in the coming year.
“If you have a commercial client who comes in and does an $8 million commercial deal, but then also a $5 million residential deal for the house they live in versus having to go somewhere else – that’s pretty cool,” he said.
