Amicus is a specialist short-term lender, bringing old-fashioned values to modern-day lending needs. Born out of the bridging market, the Amicus team have built an enviable reputation through really taking the time to understand the complexities of each case, and building meaningful relationships with all parties involved in the lending process. Whilst other lenders may say relationships matter, Amicus really hang their hat on this.

And on the 15th September, I was fortunate enough to be part of this old-fashioned approach in action at the first Amicus Stakeholder Day. Held at Le Meridian Hotel Piccadilly, the day brought together all the key stakeholders in an industry first – lender, solicitors, surveyors and brokers.

Building stronger relationships

The short-term lending field is fast paced and complex, requiring everyone involved to have a clear understanding of the market and their roles in the process to achieve swift completions for clients. By bringing all parties together under one roof, Amicus aimed to build stronger and more open relationships between themselves and their stakeholders, but also to open up communication between all parties in the interests of achieving greater understanding, innovation and efficiency.

After an informal start over coffee and pastries the day was run in a workshop style, with tables made up with an Amicus representative, plus a cross section of brokers, solicitors and surveyors. A series of questions were posed to each table around process, knowledge, the market and the day kicked off in earnest. We were given around an hour to discuss and debate as a smaller group, before presenting back our conclusions to the wider audience and opening up the discussion. Chaired by Amicus MD, Keith Aldridge, the format worked well, encouraging lively debate around the room and there was certainly no shortage of opinion.

Understanding challenges

My table included some well-known names from the broker sector, as well as highly experienced surveyors and solicitors. What quickly became evident was that although they were all extremely knowledgeable in their own sector, their understanding of each other’s challenges and the affect of these challenges could be improved.

Much of the discussion within my group was centred around the need for greater education, clarity around instructions given and received, clearly defining roles and responsibilities and better communication – challenges that also present themselves in my own sector. As well as suggestions for product innovation to meet changing market needs and refinements to the overall process. Interestingly, the same themes emerged across the room, helping to build a clear picture of where the industry focus should lie for the future.

An invaluable glimpse

I think it’s fair to say that the day was an overwhelming success for everyone involved. Stakeholders were given the opportunity to voice their opinion, gain greater understanding and thus help shape the future. For Amicus, the day presented a unique way in which to bring their stakeholders closer and to develop their own proposition in tune with their needs – building on their relationship-led approach, through specialist teams. For mark-making* and myself, the day was an invaluable window into our client’s business, allowing us to build on our already considerable knowledge and expertise within the financial services sector.

The Amicus way of doing business has a lot in common with our own, as it’s only by taking the time to understand that we can develop truly effective design solutions. It’s great to work with a client who shares these values, so thank you to everyone at Amicus for including your creative team within your list of stakeholders.

And here’s to helping you achieve your business goals through your relationship with mark-making*!

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By Lisa Davies