A day in the life of…a specialist packager

By Bridging Loan Directory 21st June 2013

We recently caught up with Lucy Hodge, Director of Vantage Finance, a specialist packager. Established in 2004, its expert team offers secured loans, buy-to-let mortgages, commercial finance, short term loans (bridging loans) and development finance for intermediaries. Lucy explains how she juggles life as the Director of a busy packager, a polo aficionado and early morning gym session fanatic.

I’m normally up around 6.30am and the first thing I’ll do is check my mobile phone for any emails which have arrived during the night. I know how important it is get back to brokers and introducers as nobody likes to be kept waiting, particularly on time sensitive cases. I have to admit that I am guilty of being constantly on my phone, but I like to keep in touch with what’s going on and I’ve always been like that. I’ll also check my diary for the day ahead and try to organise a schedule in my head, but in what I do things are always quite haphazard however well thought out your day is when it begins. Those in the industry know that things don’t always go to plan, and we’re always adapting and working around situations which may arise to get the job done.

I like to go to the gym or out for a run two or three mornings each week as it really helps to clear my head. From there, I travel into work and hope that the kettle is on! I’ll sit down with my talented team so we can share where we are with particular cases and what the priorities are for that day. The team at Vantage Finance is dedicated and committed to the deals we work on and I couldn’t wish to work with a better group. It’s their can-do attitude and expert knowledge that gets results for brokers and intermediaries.

Packagers work in partnership with intermediaries and brokers to deliver a number of financial products for your clients. This sees us liaising with brokers and lenders, collating necessary material and advising on what’s required for a deal to be completed.

I try to spend a lot of time in the office, we have a business development manager who will travel through the UK to support brokers and introducers, and we have a strong internal support structure in place to help brokers and clients on deals. This means brokers can focus on winning and completing new business while we take some of the strain from cases they are working on, helping to alleviate time constraints in the meantime. I have always enjoyed the problem solving element of my role on what are often challenging cases, and I like working on these throughout the day, responding to emails and picking up the phone to sort out any issues which may arise.

We specialise in placing buy-to-let mortgages where a high street option may not necessarily be available. This requires building and maintaining strong relationships with lenders which is really important and we have succeeded in this over the years . Having knowledge of all lenders and their varied criteria means we can target the right lender for broker’s clients with a swift, expertly-packaged application. We also offer secured loans, commercial finance, short term loans (bridging loans) and development finance for intermediaries.

It’s all worth it when we secure positive results for brokers and clients at the end of everyone’s hard work. We fight for every deal we work on and will always get to the heart of a complex case. From the moment we receive an enquiry, the team works thoroughly and efficiently for our clients. That will never change.

I’ll be in the office until 7pm or later most evenings, and I’ll always be on my phone if anyone needs to get in touch with me. Once out of work, I like to go for dinner, catch up with family and friends or go to the gym if I didn’t go that morning. I love horses and have ridden all my life and have recently taken up playing polo. I’m just beginning but I’m really getting into it. From there, it’s bed, one last glance at the emails and sleep, before starting it all over again in the morning. There are definitely not enough hours in the day, or days in the week!

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