Navigating the lending landscape and how Kuflink stands out in a crowded market

It is a challenging time to be a borrower in the UK. A dearth of high street bank lending has led many property developers and other small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to consider alternative lenders for the first time.

While many alternative lenders are willing and able to plug this funding gap and loan funds to new borrowers, the best-in-class lenders tend to have very low approval ratios.

Kuflink’s robust due diligence processes ensure that the firm’s underwriters gain a unique understanding of their borrowers and can complete on a higher percentage of borrower applications than many of its rivals. This allows the platform to write good volumes of business by funding the best projects with the highest chance of success.

According to Brian West, Kuflink’s head of sales in bridging, and Matt Freeman, the company’s head of underwriting, there are a few things that would-be borrowers can do to ensure that they have an even better chance of securing much-needed funding.

“You can’t underestimate the value that a well packaged case offers for everyone, whether it’s the broker, the applicant, and particularly us, as a lender,” says West.

“There is no ideal client,” adds Freeman. “We are an alternative lender. If the deal stacks up, from an underwriting perspective, the most important thing to us is how a deal is presented.”

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In practice, this means that Kuflink is looking for detailed applications from the very start of the process. Freeman wants the initial application form to lay out exactly what the borrower intends to use the money for, their circumstances, and crucially how they’re going to repay the loan, as well as any relevant information such as a property portfolio, or a copy of their CV.

“Fully packaging and presenting a new enquiry goes such a long way in terms of the perception it gives you as an underwriter when assessing that case,” he says.

“Transparency is the key. If someone is upfront about their bad credit, for example, that can help in terms of how the deal is presented.”

One of West’s biggest frustrations is when a borrower drip feeds bad news to their prospective lender throughout the application process.

“No lender likes piecemeal bad news,” he says. “The one thing that will wear a lender down is if a case is presented, and then three days later, you find out there’s another issue which the broker should have been told about on day one. It’s vital that brokers and borrowers work together to present a complete picture.

“If we, as a lender, know everything up front from day one, and can genuinely see that the clients are looking to work through difficulties, then we can work with them.”

Both West and Freeman noted that many of the platform’s borrowers tend to come back again and again for funding on their next projects, in a testament to Kuflink’s professionalism and expertise.

As the bridging and development lending market becomes more competitive, West believes it is this hands-on, detail-oriented approach that sets it apart from other alternative lenders.

“Borrowers are better educated now than they’ve ever been because there’s so much material and information,” says West.

“But that can be a double-edged sword because they’ve almost got too much information. If I see a menu that’s got 150 choices, I struggle to make a choice. Conversely a more limited menu can offer better quality options. At Kuflink we strive to be one of those better-quality options.”

Both Freeman and West agree that it has become much more difficult to stand out in the current lending market when so many different alternative lenders are offering the same types of products. They believe it is Kuflink’s track record, combination of product and processing strengths and reputation for good risk management that sets it apart.

“Many lenders claim to have USPs but genuine USPs are very rare,” says West. “I think it’s more a case of having combinations of selling points, and that’s what makes us unique. Equally, nearly every lender claims to be fast and flexible but in truth that should be a given with bridging loans.

“Across the industry average application times have gone up in recent years but we have bucked this trend. We genuinely do offer quick turnaround times because of our internal processes and procedures. We assign one underwriter to each case, so they can build that relationship with the broker, the borrower and sometimes both. At the same time our whole team is easily accessible. We offer a truly personal and completely transparent approach.”

The Kuflink team has been delivering bridging finance to borrowers since 2011. Over the past 13 years, the firm has worked with countless borrowers and brokers to bring them much-needed funding even during times of economic instability. It is a testament to the company’s high standards that so many of these borrowers return to Kuflink for their next projects.

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“The key things that we look to offer are speed, flexibility, and thinking outside of the box,” says Freeman.

“We are flexible with the types of valuations that we offer including automated valuations, desk-tops and drive-by. Expedited legals further streamline the application process for our borrowers.”

To date, Kuflink has facilitated the investment of more than £369m into British businesses, without any capital losses to its investors.

Kuflink knows what it does best, and it knows how to get the best from its borrowers from the very start of the application process. When transparency and clarity is prioritised on both sides of the lending agreement, everybody wins.