First of all I would like to thank all our existing introducing brokers who came along to our London Mortgage Business Expo stand, and to all the other visitors who took the time to visit us.
I would also like to pass on my thoughts for all the poor ‘soles’ who had to spend the full two days of the Expo at their stand and put a brave face on while the pain of standing for hours on end spread through their bodies. Now, I am not looking for sympathy but I can assure anyone that has not experienced this that it can be pretty hard on the feet.
No more lonely days
This was the sixth Expo in a row that we have exhibited at and since our first – when secured loans were something of an unknown product – the knowledge of the visitors has grown enormously. Previously they wanted to know what the actual product was and then told us, in no uncertain terms, that that they would never consider secured loans as an option for their clients. It was lonely in those days as there were only a couple of secured loan brokers and packagers that were exhibiting and we had to really try to educate visitors.
How times have changed. I think approximately 20 per cent of the main body of the Expo was taken up with companies who were involved in the secured loans industry in some way, and that most of the visitors were either using or now looking at using secured loans. The questions being asked were mainly about product range, commission structures and service levels.
In my opinion this is great as we now have a product that has been accepted by IFAs and mortgage brokers as an essential tool in their ability to give best advice to their clients. Maybe as one of the first firms to take the plunge and have a stand at Mortgage Expo, we can take some credit in trying to educate intermediaries in using secured loans correctly and opening their eyes to a new opportunity.
In our experience, the Expo has developed not only as a place to let the industry know exactly what you do, but a place where the networking opportunities and the chance to talk to lenders you deal with but never get the chance to visit are all found under the one roof. Expo gives you the opportunity to speak to people you have been trying to track down for days or even weeks.
Looking forward to 2007
As this is my last article before the festive period begins, I’d just like to say that this has been an excellent year for our sector, which has seen many changes, both by lenders and brokers, resulting in a much higher and more positive profile than we did at the outset of 2006. I think everyone can look forward to 2007 when, although there will be challenges and hurdles to overcome, I am sure that the secured loan industry will continue to mature into a very important part of the financial services market.
