Finance Awards 2019

9 | SME NEWS - Finance Awards 2019 Oct19254 Belmont Green Finance Limited: Specialist Financial Services Group of the Year 2019 Buying a house is a huge step in anyone’s life, but it’s not always easy to access a mortgage if your circumstances mean that you fall outside mainstream requirements. There are many people who, for a variety of reasons, can struggle to get a mortgage. Fortunately, Belmont Green offers an alternative through its specialist mortgage lending brand, Vida Homeloans. We profiled the company to find out more. With over 8,000 customers, £1.6 billion in mortgage balances and 200 employees, Belmont Green is on a mission. Founded in 2016, the intention was to build a sustainable and responsible specialist mortgage lending business through understanding, respecting and responding to the needs of all their customers and stakeholders. Now with three offices, in London, Staines and Skipton, it is looking good, with plans to expand. Belmont Green, through its mortgage brand Vida Homeloans, lends to customers who fall outside the criteria of mainstream lenders. Loans are secured on residential properties only, with customers covering both owner-occupiers and buy to let investors. Customers typically have some element of complexity in their personal circumstances or their investment strategies. These can, for example, include being self-employed or a business owner, a freelancer or contractor, having multiple jobs, a British citizen living or working outside the UK or a Buy to Let investor with a portfolio of properties. These people generally require something a little more bespoke that can’t be processed by technology alone. They require the human touch, which is – at the end of the day - what Belmont Green offers and specialises in. Belmont Green’s proposition is criteria driven, using a combination of technology and people to derive an understanding of the customer and their mortgage needs. All applications are reviewed by experienced and trained underwriters who ultimately make the lending decision. Belmont Green’s goal is to provide a high level of service to the intermediary and the customer for the entire mortgage journey through a combination of criteria, people and technology. The culture at Belmont Green is one of positivity, with an emphasis on good customer outcomes and long-term sustainability. Friendly, open and collaborative, colleagues expect high standards of behaviour from each other, and therefore take the time to listen, understand and communicate. Belmont Green finds that challenges are where it and its team thrive. The ‘can do’ attitude to deal with opportunities is carefully cultivated through a professional lens. The culture is driven from the top and is approved and adopted by both the Board and the Executive Committee. With values aimed at working together to serve customers delivering a quality service in an innovative way and with a long-term mind set, the ethos is such that it is clear to every employee what is expected of them and how this leads to exceptional customer satisfaction. In order to attract the brightest and best, Belmont Green depends on its team of experienced mortgage professionals to provide an exciting environment in which to work. Its unique appeal comes from the more human-focused area that Belmont Green specialises in. Currently, the firm is developing various market opportunities, building a proposition that will challenge the status quo. The ambition in its growth plans is evident and reflects the team who work tirelessly to bring it all together. Belmont Green has found an enduring success in catering to a niche – and complex - market: those who can’t access a mortgage easily. By offering a human response to important life decisions, alongside a service that is by turns innovative and responsive, it’s clear that this firm can offer a solu- tion that is agile and efficient. A mortgage company for modern people, Belmont Green offers peace of mind that money can’t buy. Telephone: 01784 461 561 Email: [email protected] Website: www.belmontgreen.co.uk