Meet the dance DJ of bridging finance

By

Rick Davey DJ B Viss

Sweaty, loud, and euphoric in front of a crowd of thousands is not where you would expect to find your average business development manager. But DJ B.Viss – aka The Bridging Group’s Rick Davey – is as at home playing trance music to Creamfields fans as he is agreeing commercial terms. Albeit with fewer fluorescent whistles.

A Manchester United season ticket holder of more than three decades, he has only been with the Dartford-based bridging lender a little over a year yet his contribution to its success has already seen him promoted this month to senior business development manager.

“In a small space of time he has gone above and beyond in what he does here at TBG as well as the relationships he has with his brokers,” says joint managing director Dawn Trustam, calling the decision “an easy promotion for joint managing director’ Jagtar Singh Sethi and myself to give”.

Davey started spinning the decks 20 years ago, but in the spirit of smart diversification went into finance around the same time.

Pensions were his first port of call, originally as a technical support at Friends Provident then as a Sipp administrator with AJ Bell, before joining Abbey/Santander as a BDM, proving there really is no fixed path into the short-term finance sector.

Bridging came calling in 2016 –  Davey was headhunted into the industry, taking roles at Together and Relendex before moving to The Bridging Group.

His nomination for best BDM at The SFI awards this year is acknowledgement of how far he has come in bridging despite his only fairly recent entry to the market.

The key to his success, Davey says, and his advice for someone looking to enter the industry today, is “listen to everything you are taught, and if you don’t understand, ask questions, because knowledge is everything in this business”.

Much like when he is mastering the mix desk during his residency for Rong Events in the clubs of Manchester, what drives Davey at his BDM desk is being able to act decisively to secure good deals for clients.

“The best thing about my job is being a decision maker,” he says, “meaning I can choose the rate for each case individually and make sure it suits all parties”.

With Prime Minister Boris Johnson further tightening restrictions on social activity, coronavirus is posing existential challenges to two of Davey’s passions right now – football and clubbing – but he is more glass-half-full about the bridging world.

“I think the industry is in a good position at the moment,” he says optimistically, though with Britain currently in recession and economists divided over how quickly the country will be able to pull itself out of the slump, Davey sees the next half year as crucial for business.

“The biggest challenge for the industry will be the coming six months,” he says. “During this time we may see property prices reducing, creating issues for many lenders and clients due to increased LTVs.”

Plenty to keep him busy until the hoped for summer 2021 revival lets clubbers get back to enjoying sticky floors at 135 BPM.

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