Membership news

Older households in privately rented homes to soar by 2035

Homes headed by a person over the age of 45 will account for at least half of all privately renting households by 2035, analysis conducted on behalf of Paragon Bank has found.

A report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF), ‘Where next for the private rented sector?’, found that 35% of households currently private renting are headed by somebody aged 45 or over. This will rise to half of households by 2035 according to the SMF’s projections, equating to an additional 1.14 million households, bringing the total number of 45+ households to 2.7 million.

Conversely, the proportion of households in the sector where the head is aged 34 or under will fall from 39% today to 35%. Those in the 35-44 age group will experience the greatest decline, falling from 25% of households today to 15% in 2035.

Richard Rowntree, NACFB Patron Paragon Bank’s managing director of mortgages, said: “The SMF tenant research shows that more mature tenants want greater security in the form of longer tenancies and control over their property, such as the freedom to make cosmetic changes. They also want to have pets in their homes, and these are all things landlords need to consider.”

Funding Circle lends over £1bn through introducer community

Funding Circle’s full year results were announced on 10th March and the NACFB Patron was keen to take the time to recognise the success of the introducer community, including the Association’s Members.

In 2021, Funding Circle lent over £1 billion through more than 1,000 active UK introducers for the second year in a row. During another difficult year, the funding went to support more than 6,500 small to medium sized businesses around the UK, helping them get the finance they needed to grow and thrive after the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanking brokers for their ongoing support, Jeremy Crinall, head of UK introducer partnerships, said: “These figures demonstrate the huge value that the introducer community brings to SMEs, and is testimony to their passion and commitment towards Funding Circle’s goals.”

The introducer team has formed strong relationships with its brokers over the years, and the results are evidence of the journey the NACFB Patron has taken to support as many SMEs as possible.

Funding Circle has lent in excess of £14 billion to more than 120,000 businesses so far and anticipates over the coming years both figures will continue to grow.

Membership News

MFS secures £300m funding as it targets £1bn loan book

Market Financial Solutions (MFS) has announced more than £300 million of new funding, which will be used to greatly accelerate the growth of its loan book across both existing bridging products and buy-to-let mortgages.

The funding comes from multiple global financial institutions following a period of due diligence, demonstrating the strength of the NACFB Patron’s products, platform, team, and client base.

Now with multiple dedicated funding lines, MFS will use the additional funding capacity to grow its loan book to £1 billion in the next 12 months. Large bridging loans and buy-to-let mortgages will be two key areas of growth.

Along with the new funding, in the coming weeks MFS will be adding new personnel to its team, which has doubled in size in the last year. It will be recruiting across a range of bridging and buy-to-let roles, including experienced underwriters, business development managers and marketers, to help accelerate the deployment of its specialist lending solutions.

Describing the funding as a hugely exciting development, Paresh Raja, chief executive officer of MFS, said: “We’re delighted to have secured this new funding from some very highly regarded global financial institutions. It will greatly accelerate growth across all our product lines.”

Business Enterprise Fund launches £5m hospitality recovery loan

Hospitality businesses were presented with new recovery funding in March as Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) launched its £5 million hospitality recovery loan. An event at Spark:York, hosted by the NACFB Patron, welcomed several hospitality company owners and introduced them to the funding, which has been designed to deliver additional support to hospitality, food, retail and supply chain businesses across Yorkshire, The Humber and Tees Valley.

According to trade body UK Hospitality, the British hospitality sector lost £114.8 billion in sales in 2020/21 due to COVID-19. Businesses that have not faced closure have been left with loss of income, depleted cash reserves and staff shortages. With the recent lifting of restrictions, the sector now faces the challenge of returning to pre-pandemic trading levels.

Steve Waud, CEO at BEF said: “Recovery and growth is vital for this sector, which has suffered more than most over the last two years. We look forward to funding many other hospitality companies.”

Guest speaker, Kevin Hollinrake MP, spoke passionately about the importance of SMEs and hospitality to the regional and UK economy, highlighting the current funding gaps they face. He said: “Community development financial institutions like BEF play an important role in addressing this funding gap.”