Plans include the expansion of its marketing, the recruitment of business development managers (BDMs) and new products. Buildstore currently allows self-builders and renovators to borrow up to 95 per cent of the land costs and 95 per cent of the build costs, with stage payments made in advance during the build, so the client is able to pay for materials and labour costs as they are incurred.
John Hay, head of product development for Buildstore, said: “The self-build market is growing in popularity for consumers and intermediaries. A high proportion of our business is through brokers and we want to support them and give them the tools for the business. As there is generally a wider spread of business now, brokers are more interested in getting into self-build.”
Buildstore said the recruitment of BDMs will be integral to the relaunch in order to take its business to brokers. Hay added: “At the moment, we don’t have people out in the field and all business is done on the phone. We feel our presence is needed out there for face-to-face business, which is the preferred method for many.”
Thomas Reeh, chief executive at blackandwhite.co.uk, welcomed the relaunch. He said: “Face-to-face business is the key to building awareness. The lenders that do best are the ones that have the best field representation. It’s very hard to make a product come to life over the phone, so I think Buildstore is going down the right track. While the rates are good, it could be more aggressive, as when someone buys a property off-plan, it is often worth a lot more by the end of the build.”
Full details of the relaunch will be announced in August.
