The Intermediary – September 2025 - Flipbook - Page 63
I N P RO F I L E
“We continue to invest in automation to
optimise our responsiveness to brokers and
borrowers. The application of AI extends our ability
to underwrite loans and deploy investors’ funds,
intelligently balancing risk and reward.”
For brokers, this also lends itself to speed –
which is of the utmost importance in the bridging
market, in particular.
“We turn applications into terms within
24 hours,” Robinson continues. “We can then
rapidly complete loans – however complex.
The technology enables expert underwriters
to execute lending solutions that safely meet
borrowers’ needs, and provide the risk-adjusted
returns for investors that attracts them to deploy
funds with TAB and in property-backed loans.”
While the future will likely see some loans
become fully automated, Robinson is clear that
human oversight is still core to TAB’s culture.
He says: “TAB will retain a human touch for all
loans, be it oversight or the ‘sleeves rolled-up’
development of solutions for more complex cases.
A key part of the TAB culture is each member of
the team being onsite, sharing experiences and
learning journeys.”
Facing market challenges
For Robinson, now is the right time for TAB to
scale, bring its solutions to an “increasingly wide
set of borrowers,” and expand its proposition, due
not just to business confidence, but market need,
especially as mainstream lenders retreat from this
type of lending.
He explains: “High street banks have been
closing branches and reducing their high street
presence for many years. Borrowers have become
comfortable directly approaching specialist finance
brokers rather than their bank manager for loans.
The gap is only going to continue to widen.”
The specialist sector is an increasingly important
part of the puzzle, Robinson explains: “The market
needs lenders that can bring funding at scale,
with the resilience and longevity of institutional
backing, at the right price and with the flexibility
borrowers require.
“TAB has the right products, and by working
closely with brokers and borrowers can structure
deals that meet borrowers’ needs, with a quality
of underwriting that robustly manages risks and
rewards for all involved.”
This is not just about filling a gap left by other
lenders, but helping to navigate the headwinds
subduing the UK property market, which Robinson
says is “currently a tough place to do business,”
despite providing a “robust source of value” for
investors that are able to access the right leverage.
In a “challenging property market, with pressure
on asset valuations,” Robinson says that the all-
important UK entrepreneurial base is in particular
need of support, among a wide range of borrowers.
He explains: “The mainstream banks typically
limit lending to borrowers with established
businesses. We can underwrite a variety of loans
backed by a variety of properties. We are also able
to act quickly for borrowers for whom funding is
time critical.”
Meanwhile, there are other hurdles, such as
improving energy efficiency and contributing to
the march to net zero, all of which place specialist
lenders like TAB firmly at the forefront.
While he himself is “excited to get out from
behind the desk and fine-tune products,”
Robinson says: “We’ve invested in our sales and
underwriting teams so we can help borrowers
structure deals that work for them.”
With funding structured to adapt to future
trends, TAB is balancing its growth ambitions
with market headwinds by leveraging technology,
experience, and investor confidence.
Next on the agenda
TAB aims to be a one-stop shop for bridging and
specialist mortgage lending. For brokers, this
means competitive pricing, speed, and risk-based
underwriting. For borrowers, Robinson cites a
commitment to positive outcomes across the full
loan lifecycle.
He says: “TAB has the diversity, flexibility
and longevity of funding to serve borrowers
throughout the lifecycle of their investments. We
actively engage with borrowers from application to
redemption to ensure positive outcomes.”
While there may be those that have yet to
engage with TAB, as it expands into new markets
and sets about working with a new cohort of
brokers, the message is clear. This is “a peoplefirst business.” Robinson says: “We are more than
happy to spend time with brokers to explain how
we operate, and we want feedback from brokers
as to how we can continue to develop and improve
our products and service.”
To build this engagement, he adds, the firm is “at
the start of a multifaceted campaign to bring TAB
to everyone’s attention,” and encourage brokers to
engage with social and digital media, get in touch,
and find out more.
Robinson’s focus is now shifting to deploying
that investment – and the confidence it
demonstrates – as effectively as possible in a
changing and often turbulent market.
He concludes: “This will mean listening to
brokers and borrowers, directly and through TAB’s
sales and underwriting teams, to understand what
we need to develop and ensure we have the right
products and funding available as our customer’s
needs keep evolving.” ●
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