Good development lending in a challenging market: Q&A with our new relationship director Lucie Martin

Lucie Martin recently joined LendInvest, here she talks about her experience and what good development lending looks like. Learn more about our development finance products and team here.

Where have you joined LendInvest from?

I joined LendInvest from an alternative lender in property finance. 

How long have you been working in development lending/the industry?

I have worked in lending for nearly 25 years, more recently focusing purely on development finance. 

What is your role? 

I am a Relationship Director and my job is to provide development loans to support house builders, typically in the north of the UK.

What will your day-to-day look like at LendInvest? 

My typical day at LendInvest involves speaking to introducers and professionals to build the LendInvest brand in the development space, and source new loan enquiries. 

I then spend quite a bit of time responding to new loan enquiries by assessing the information provided and outlining how we might be able to help. 

As I build my customer portfolio, I will also be spending time managing the drawdowns for borrowers and ensuring they get funds as quickly as possible, as well as visiting sites to monitor development progress. 

What attracted you to working at LendInvest?

LendInvest has a great reputation in the market as a clear, responsible and responsive lender. LendInvest has certainty of funding and a focus on building strong personal relationships with both intermediaries and borrowers. We also have strong tech support which allows us to deliver loans as efficiently as possible. 

It is a challenging market at the moment, but there is still a need for new-build homes, so what can lenders do to support developers in this environment? 

The key to supporting developers in this environment is to deliver what we say we are going to deliver and do it as quickly and painlessly as possible. Having certainty of funding is critical to ensuring that developers can rely on the promise of a loan getting to completion and drawdown.

Once a loan is completed, we have a 24-hour turnaround on drawdowns which is market leading and vital for optimal cashflow management.

What do you think good development lending should look like? 

Good development lending is efficient and responsible. Efficient in that it delivers outcomes quickly and painlessly to borrowers. Responsible in that loans are provided to developers who have the ability to deliver the new homes required in the market, taking into account the communities around them and fulfilling the contracts they enter into.

Lucie Martin recently joined LendInvest, here she talks about her experience and what good development lending looks like. Learn more about our development finance products and team here.