Nick, who began his career at RBS before moving on to Coutts, and then banks such as Shawbrook and Redwood, suggested that the commercial market, after being hit by Covid and the rise of working from home, was showing signs of recovery.

“There are loads of lenders on the market, most of which are currently purely concentrated on the BTL space — especially since the pandemic, because the commercial space became quite volatile and a number of businesses closed or struggled,” explained Nick.

“A lot of lenders stepped away from lending [in the] commercial space for a period of time. But businesses now are beginning to thrive and come back.”

Nick noted that fintech had evolved well for BTL lending but was less effective for commercial propositions as lender appetite returned.

“[It] can be quite complicated. It can be overengineered — they ask for too many documents and requirements and don't always offer the flexible, lateral thinking and approach to the commercial market that they once may have done.”

This also extends to application systems, which he said may be more suited for BTL cases.

“For commercial, there are a few more things that we need to be cognisant of from risk, which are not always captured on those automatic systems.

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“There is that lack of human interaction and sometimes a lack of detail going into each transaction, which naturally causes delays.”

Nick said that as businesses recovered and returned to office-based working, demand to buy and own assets was increasing, but warned underwriting capacity could contribute to case delays.

Nick believed the shift into specialist commercial lending could be difficult for underwriters used to peer-to-peer models or highly structured bank processes.

“Our view is that simplicity and flexibility are what the market craves at the moment, and that's not always serviced,” explained Nick.

With this in mind, Nick aims to equip his underwriting team with the skills to handle growing commercial demand, while also developing his own knowledge.

A greater understanding of the commercial market, whether that be through upskilling or training courses, would lead to greater understanding of the risks involved with commercial leases, said Nick — especially for first-time buyers and first-time landlords, as well as customers looking to buy assets to trade from.

Similarly, in the face of fintech's growth, Nick felt it was important for underwriters to maintain a personal touch.

“My view has always been that no matter if it's an automated process submission or a manual application like the olden days, we should be picking up the phone and having those conversations with the brokers on day one.”

According to Nick, while thinking outside the box and knowing the property mattered, it was the basics that produced the strongest outcomes for brokers.

“It's offering simplicity and flexibility, which the market really wants. And underwriters have the capability to do that.”