What does the future hold for development finance?

How has the mortgage industry changed?

Fraser, who has previously worked for Santander, KPMG and Bank of Ireland during his career, has seen the industry change during the decades he has spent within it.

“The biggest changes I’ve seen in the industry over the years are the level of risk now laying on the shoulders of the developer: cost risk, planning risk, construction risk and finance risk,” he observed. “With this change post-COVID, developers yearn to have a funder that understands a changing landscape, that cost escalation can occur and is fully supportive to help developers see their scheme through to completion.”

All of Assetz Capital’s projects are either going to positively support the local economy or the people who live in a community, Fraser explained – for example, a hotel, leisure facility or a care home, affordable housing or repurposing old office buildings into residential spaces to meet housing demands. It recently funded a £9m deal for an 84-unit serviced apartment development in Belfast.

Its network of relationship directors across the UK is able to support its intermediary and direct clients at the local level, he explained, enabling them to have a good understanding of the local markets in which they operate and their challenges.

“For me it’s always enjoyable when we help fund multiple project sites for SME developers, allowing them to scale their business quicker and faster than a bank would allow them,” he said.