James reflects with B&C about his time with the long established property group and playing witness some vast changes in his time. Also Regentsmead’s New Business Executive Ashley Ilsen shares his thoughts on his colleague.

So with you joining Regentsmead in 1987, can you give us a picture of where it all began?

James: I recall one of my first business meetings where I had joined some people for a lunch at a smart London restaurant. I was young and eager to learn, however I was left mortified when I was foiled by a fried potato that slipped off the end of my fork and went flying across the room, only for a supercilious waiter to return the lost spud to me”.

 27 years later, albeit with slightly better dining etiquette, there is scarcely a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new or come across something a bit different.

 Has it been all ups?

Ashley: James has been through several deep recessions, the first in the late 1980’s when Regentsmead had a substantial portfolio of secondary shops. Trying to let empty shops during severe downturns was fantastic training and doing business in harsh economic times are experiences I’m sure made him a better businessman today. One particular story James often calls upon was in his early days when he was asked to re-possess a shop on a gloomy early morning in East London. It transpired that the tenant was an ex-professional boxer and was none too pleased to see James, however thankfully it all ended peacefully!

James:  Having done business through booms and busts the easy conclusion to make is that nothing is constant in business. It’s alarming that every time we enter a bullish market, as we are in today, we see the usual rates slash and LTV catapult to unsustainable levels. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ the market turns and lenders will come under genuine pressure to get their funds back in. The ones that have lent recklessly will be the first to disappear in a sea of bad debt.

“Regentsmead have of course supported builders and developers through a number of recessions where they have experienced credit squeezes and a real lack of liquidity without any real warning. Our ability to lend well during these down turns is what sets us apart. As a result we are repaid with genuine loyalty from our developers who appreciate what we have done for them when mainstream lenders would have otherwise pulled the plug on their facilities.”

So James, we understand you were given the opportunity to head up the lending division in the 90s, but since joining Regentsmead you must have made a lot of strong business relationships, can you tell us more?

James: “I’ve got clients that I have been dealing with for well over twenty years. I’ve seen their children grow up and begin to take a hand in their businesses. The true value of genuine business partnerships is there to be seen.”

B&C has noticed that you have freshened up the team by introducing university graduates to the business, would you say this has proved as a success?

James: “Yes, I would. Asides from the quirks of having a younger team, in truth their generation is able to bring them plenty of fresh ideas, enthusiasm and innovation as well as being savvy with the internet and social media their input is an excellent complement to my experience. I regularly remind them that I have been working at Regentsmead longer than they have been alive. It brought it home to me how much of an age gap there is between me and some of my team when a reference from me to the Two Ronnies drew several blank faces!”

So how are things going at the moment at Regentsmead ?

Ashley: “Regentsmead has recently reported record levels of business, midway through this year we already eclipsed all our new broker business introduced in 2013, with a pipeline suggesting the second half of this year should be just as successful. The loan book has increased by over 30 per cent  since April, these are exciting times.”

“However James has seen this all before, another upturn in the market, plenty of business to be done but this won’t for a second affect our lending practices.”

James: “When I started at Regentsmead I was young, free and single and was too young to drive. Now I’m married, old(er) and hopefully a little wiser I still have that same feeling that I had when I was just getting started, I still have plenty of energy and a massive enthusiasm for growing the business in a sustainable way. With a young team and plenty of great ideas in motion hopefully the next 27 years will be just as exciting as the previous”.