In mid-2011, still in the thick soup of the crunch, we sold up and moved out of our beautiful HQ, to a much smaller, and most importantly, much cheaper office half a mile away. With 14 team members, the reality of the times meant we no longer needed a 100 seat call centre and the bills that went with it. Apart from cost, the major benefit of the new location was that our ISP was based in the office above us meaning super-fast internet and telephone call quality as geographic customer no. 0001. It was always meant as a means to an end and the move was extremely successful allowing Y3S to cut it costs by £150,000, much of which went straight onto our bottom line.
However by March 2013, the little old place was full to the rafters and there was no flexibility for expansion, so with some kind and motivating words from David Johnson who happened to be visiting us at the time (something along the lines of ‘this place is a shithole lads, can’t you get somewhere less cramped?’) we decided that it was time to upgrade, and the most obvious place to start was to do a deal with the new owners of our former HQ, which had failed to rent and had sat empty since we has sold it to them.
A few phone calls and a few weeks later we struck a very favourable deal, and leased half of the space we had previously owned. Signing on the line and moving back in created mixed feelings of both fear and excitement. This was good, as over the years I have learned that this is the feeling that normally takes you on the most exhilarating journeys.
On top of that, the industry had a real feel of huge potential that was not just emerging but now clearly evident, and with all our ducks in a fairly neat row and the monthly books becoming increasingly positive, the timing was right to climb the ladder.
Just like the rent, the move back in was cheap as everything was where we had left it! It was a matter of plug and play. The interior of the office however, was redecorated in the company scheme, midnight blue and anthracite, and it was decided that the theme of the wall-art was to be ‘inspirational leaders’. The Y3S team was consulted and names such as Sir Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela, Sir Winston Churchill and the Dalai Lama, to name a few, emerged and were included. Our good friends at Bluegg Creative were given the brief, and they returned a week later with several designs in vivid colours in a sort of Andy Warhol/polka dot type theme, together with a famous quote from that leader across the bottom. They really were quite striking.
A month later and with our Shawbrook completions growing on a monthly basis, DJ was back in Cardiff, having helped us launch our industry magazine Loans Insider. He had happily agreed to appear on the inaugural front cover providing instant kudos for this, our latest product launch. He walked about the bustling building with a smile on his face. “Now you can really start going places again lads, well done, now let’s go and get some lunch, eh?” The DJ stamp of approval had been granted.
A month on again and Barney Drake and I, along with the main players of the industry met up with DJ, Phillip George, Maeve Ward and the team at the superb Corinthia hotel in London to discuss future Shawbrook product development and the potential of the secured loan market in the coming years. The day was a success, and everyone was pleased to have seen DJ on good form. In reality, and unbeknown to us, he was really very sick indeed.
Sadly, it was the last time that we were to ever see him. I had spoken to DJ just before boarding a plane to Majorca where my wife and I were to spend a few days over her birthday, and he passed away the following week in early July, following his long battle with cancer.
I think it’s fair to say that the industry was deeply moved by DJ’s passing. Not only was he regarded as the forefather of secured loans, but also an all-round good guy who was always optimistic, smiling, never forgot a name and always enquired as to your well-being and that of your family before anything else. With great ease, DJ recalled things inside and outside of work that you may have discussed with him only in passing 6 or 12 months previously. He did this with everybody, making them feel special and as a result people were only too happy to do anything for him. DJ was directly or indirectly responsible for making more millionaires than anyone else in our industry, and he loved to see people and businesses flourish as a result of his efforts.
To different people he was different things, but to us DJ was an unofficial mentor. At around 11am on New Year’s Day this year he called, while I was out fetching the papers, spoke to my wife and asked for me to return the call as soon as I returned, for he had good news. I did so straightaway wondering what on earth could have prompted such a call on such a day. But this was DJ and that made it very exciting! The reason for his call? To be the first lender to wish Y3S a Happy New Year and that he and Shawbrook would be right by our side in 2013. What? DJ calling me on New Year’s Day to say Happy New Year? Yes, I felt very special… damn, DJ was good.
Ever the optimist, he gave us the motivation and drive to look beyond the troubles of the industry to a future that in his eyes would gain momentum very quickly. He was right of course, before his untimely death, he led the secured loan division of his latest venture, the recently-formed Shawbrook Bank to a market leader producing £17m in the month before he passed.
The growth of the industry has led us to sign terms on space for an additional 30 team members. Redecoration means further requirement for wall-art. David Johnson was the first name that came up, and so it goes that his image now hangs above all of us, with the strap line ‘Industry Legend’ in our Hall of Fame, keeping his spirit alive at Y3S and reminding us of what it means to be an inspirational leader.