While the company got its wheels in motion in June this year when the company officially launched and started trading, Arial director Samuel Morris (pictured above) — who considers himself somewhat of a traditionalist — has already spent ample time in the industry in specialist lenders such as TAB and Magnet Capital.

Despite having worked in the property lending market for 10 years, Sam has felt the weight of starting the new venture.

“I don't want to say it's daunting, but it's a very big project,” he stated.

“We're trying to build something very good sized, so it's going to be an interesting journey,” said Sam.

“The daunting side is the fact that I look at myself in the mirror and I think, quite modestly, that I'm just another guy in finance . . .  in this little short-term industry, but we've got big aspirations.”

Sam divulged that, while being selective on the cases Arial facilitates, the company aims to become a nine-figure business within the next 10 years, lending in the millions monthly throughout the rest of 2024.

To reach his lending ambitions, Sam understands the importance of liquidity of loan security property that is leveraged from borrowers.

“Good opportunities, in my opinion, are determined by liquidity,” he said.

“And so of course, that means looking at strong locations. It's easy to say, ‘location, location, location’ but, in our space, there's so much more to consider. ‘Liquidity, liquidity, liquidity’ is probably the ‘L word’ I would go for.” 

The company’s funding structure is a mix of principal capital and committed capital from a private investor network, meaning that the company can benefit from an endless funding capacity due to the firm’s structure allowing an infinite number of private investors to be taken on if decided.

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He recognised that those who dominated the bridging sphere had accumulated their market share through longevity, and therefore had set his sights modestly.

“We're here to take our reasonable slice of a very large pie,” he explained, adding that while the firm doesn’t need “to be the biggest”, service will be critical.

“[For] the people that we do work with, I certainly want to make such a good impression that they continually come back to us as the first port of call.

The product offering available from Arial consists of first- and second-charge loans across residential, commercial, mixed-use, and BMV assets, alongside light, medium, and heavy residential refurbishment facilities and commercial property refurbishments.

“It's interesting how people talk about their products in this space so often; [I understand] that, as a larger entity, perhaps clear-cut products are required,” said Sam, “but as a more nimble and specialist business, we aren't here to just sell the most attractive product — we need to efficiently market and sell the most attractive service more than anything.

“I want to be able to bring back the feeling where brokers and borrowers can pick up the phone, talk to a decision maker, and know that what they say goes. I don't want the company to be spread too thin with too many hands on deck.” 

In addition to good service, Sam believes consistency — which has been somewhat lacking in the wider economic environment, with interest rates unmoved since August last year and the country seeing the arrival of a new government — and “sticking to the basics” will bring his new venture to success.

“I'd be very proud if other people were to describe Arial as a consistently good business,” stated Sam.

“We're here to consistently deliver on the fundamentals of what a bridging lender should be. I don't need to make up any fluffy USPs to sound different.”