Five minuteswith

Five Minutes with: Louisa Sedgwick

Louisa Sedgwick Managing Director, Specialist Mortgages Hampshire Trust Bank

Describe your role in ten words or less?

New, exciting, busy, challenging, educational, rewarding... ageing!

How do you make a difference?

Gosh – I like to think I am a good listener who adapts well to most situations. At my age (I am very old) I have experienced a whole host of people and practices – I always try to take the positives out of most situations and then share them.

What’s the most common reason for turning away a deal?

Poor story telling! If we don’t get a full story, it’s incredibly difficult to build a solution – we are always keen to try to support the broker in placing the deal with us, but we need warts and all to help reach the decision.

If you were to start your own small business, what would it sell?

Time – when you are young you waste so much time because you have so much. Now I see the weeks rushing by and I try to cram them with experiences – so whilst no one can buy time, we can use it far more effectively – rubbish answer, but I am not good at making anything that anyone would want to buy – other than sausage and mash!

What advice do you have for the modern commercial finance broker?

Know your lender – what do they do, what niches can they offer to support your customers – they will help you write more business if you work closely with them.

What has been your lockdown essential?

I would like to say running – but actually it’s sour cream and chive pretzels – lovely!

What changes do you hope to see in the ‘new normal’?

I would love to think that we don’t always go back to doing what we always did – that would be so easy. How fabulous would it be if we maintained the skill of enjoying a great work/life balance – go out, get some fresh air, feel rejuvenated – I am yet to find a task that absolutely needs to be done there and then – we are after all not saving lives – we are just enhancing them.

Which person has inspired you the most?

I have worked with some truly inspirational people – too many to mention, I have been lucky. But the person who has inspired me the most is my mum – she is bright, beautiful, supportive, loving and just all round awesome!

What law would you pass if you were Prime Minister for the day?

I would like to see robust housing policies be set and then actually followed through, some continuity of tenure of a decent housing minister– a five-year plan would be a dream!