BestAdvice fires the questions at Miranda Khadr, founder of Provide Finance
BestAdvice (BA): You recently rebranded as Provide Finance. What drove the rebrand?
Miranda Khadr (MK): We felt that Provide Finance was a far more suitable and accurate description of what we actually do today.
When we started Pitch 4 Finance back in 2020, the key for us was to deliver a platform that made the process of securing specialist finance quick, easy and transparent, and we have succeeded in doing that. The platform was originally called Pitch 4 Finance because of the nature of these types of loans, where terms are often based on the specifics of an individual case and so a traditional approach to sourcing can’t work. Instead, with our platform, after initial criteria checks, lenders are able to provide terms, or pitch, on what they would be able to offer to an applicant. However, it’s important to remember that pitching is hard work, it can be a real slog, and this didn’t align with what we set out to achieve as a business. We are here to make life easier for brokers, to support them in finding the finance their clients need for their projects. We Provide so they don’t have to pitch.
The platform, in its original form, was very functional and one dimensional, but we’re now so much more than that. We’ve evolved to provide brokers with the ability to communicate with their clients and with lenders under one virtual roof, whilst all the time being fully supported by our dedicated team of finance experts. It also allows them to manage multiple clients from a single dashboard, making their lives easier. Our offering is no longer just transactional but combines the very best in technology with the personal touch that comes from our team of real human beings.
In addition, we have established a resource centre on the platform, so users can access useful documents, articles and other literature of interest. Informed users can then make better decisions about the choices that are presented to them.
That’s what we provide, which is why Provide Finance was the perfect name for us.
BA: Is the business changing under its new brand?
MK: Really, it’s the way that the business has already evolved that has made the rebrand make sense.
We always wanted to be able to help brokers to connect swiftly with the hundreds of different lenders active in the specialist market, to allow them to quickly find the best products and lenders for a particular case. And we have developed the technology that means we can provide that to brokers.
But we have also added a personal element to that service, providing the sort of support that it is clear brokers want from a sourcing platform like Provide Finance. In fact, it’s that personalised support system – where brokers can run queries past our expert team of advisers, whether over the phone or through the live chat facility – which sets us apart, and is why we have won the trust of so many brokers.
We don’t just support brokers through community, but also through expertise. Our experienced team are always at the forefront of the latest developments in the industry. So you can trust our advice to come from a place of industry knowledge that technology alone can’t replicate.
BA: Why is that personal touch important?
MK: All cases are unique in some way – there are always elements of a particular transaction which can prove testing when it comes to finding finance. And, it is by delivering that personal level of support that we can ensure that even if a case is particularly challenging, the broker and their client can still find the finance they need.
To provide that support, we have built a team of experts in the various areas of specialist finance who are on hand to help brokers with any queries they have related to individual cases, to assist them in identifying the best possible options for their clients. Our team are fully immersed in the market and make it their business to stay ahead pf the most current industry updates and criteria changes.
That support has to go hand in hand with market-leading technology, however. Sourcing specialist products can be a painstaking process without it, which is why we set out to provide the best platform around, which allows brokers to research the best rates and criteria across the likes of bridging finance, development finance, commercial mortgages, mortgages for residential investment properties, HMO lending and business finance
From there, they can then submit enquiries and make applications, all through the platform.
BA: Do brokers really need a sourcing solution for specialist cases?
MK: Absolutely! The specialist market can be a testing one, with so many different lenders employing vastly different criteria, and it can be difficult to keep on top of those variances.
That situation has only been exacerbated by the speed with which we have seen products and criteria change over recent weeks. The Provide Finance platform is a perfect base for brokers, keeping them up to date with how those lending propositions have changed, and allowing them to identify the right deal for their clients.
With so many pricing and criteria changes, it can be difficult for brokers to stay up-to-date, but Provide means they don’t have to. It makes the entire process smoother from start to finish so that the broker can focus on giving their customer a great experience. As clients are often business’s best promoters, we understand that taking stress off of the broker ultimately means that the broker will transact more business as a result of their happy clients
Keeping clients calm and informed at the moment is massively important given the rate of changes, and a quality sourcing solution can ensure a broker can do just that.
The sourcing involved is different with specialist cases, compared with regular mortgage deals, however since there will always be specific details about the case which make things more complex.
The Provide Finance platform is designed to overcome that, since lenders are invited to propose terms for the loan. Brokers can then speak directly with the lenders via the platform, meaning they can swiftly agree terms.
Over the last couple of years we’ve built a really strong understanding of how to make even the most complex case more straightforward, and succeed in accessing the finance needed. Our success in doing so hasn’t just meant winning industry awards – it’s also won the trust of a significant number of brokers, which is why we have delivered funding solutions worth more than £300m to date.
It’s also important to emphasise the role that brokers have played in the design of the Provide Finance platform. We’ve spent a lot of time speaking to brokers to get a better grasp of precisely what they want from a sourcing solution – we have learned first hand what makes brokers excited, frustrated, or surprised when using a sourcing platform, and put those lessons to good use in developing the Provide Finance platform.