The Five Minute Interview with Hayley Taylor, Operations Manager, Hope Capital

By Tony Sanchez 27th January 2014

Hope Capital is a 100% privately funded specialist provider of bridging loans. This short term financing is secured as a first or second charge (not stand alone) against a property or a number of properties depending on the circumstances. It is usually required when standard lending criteria cannot be met or the time constraints of the deal mean that high street lenders are unable to perform.

We speak to operations manager, Hayley Taylor:

What is the best thing about being in the bridging finance business?

Being able to help people instantly and see it make a real difference. The speed and turnaround times….have been a welcome change from the slow pace of the banking industry.

What keeps you focussed?

I learned at a young age that nice things come from working hard, I aim to always have a holiday booked to look forward to, even if it is 8 months away

What qualities do you look for in your employees or colleagues?

Loyalty and hard workers, I am a firm believer that you can tell on first meeting somebody whether they have these qualities. First impressions are very important to me.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

Optimist…until realism occasionally shoots me down.

What did you want to be as a child?

I had a slight obsession with ‘Silent Witness’ and wanted to become a pathologist, however, at age 16, a salary was much more appealing than 8 years of studying.

What will be the greatest challenge facing the bridging finance industry in the coming months?

I believe the industry has a few challenges this year:

New entrants – with the help of industry bodies such as the ASTL and its Code of Conduct we need to ensure that all new lenders work in a way that is moral and ethical.

Regulation – an introduction of regulation will be a challenge, however I believe that an element of light touch regulation is required in the industry.

Funding – as the industry grows, ensuring that there is the right mix of lenders, including principal lenders who hold the funds themselves and can make instant decisions as Hope Capital does.

Many lenders now look for outside funding which can come with many restraints and can mean that they do not have the funds available to make their own lending decisions or make them as quickly as are required.

Bank funding comes with too many restraints for the lender.

Who or what makes you laugh?

Jason Manford, John Bishop, Peter Kay…northern comedians have a tendency to be story-tellers and anybody who can tell a funny story has me hooked, I can watch a comedian on TV and laugh out loud to myself.

Do you dread Monday mornings?

I must admit that I am more of a night owl rather than an early bird, so I can’t just blame Monday mornings.

I would much rather have an email conversation with a broker in the evening (it’s amazing how often that happens) rather than at 6am – the good thing for our team is that Jonathan is the early bird which is why we work well together.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

To get on slightly better with mornings?!

With whom would you most like to have dinner?

I can’t declare to be a huge fan of any well-known person and thus don’t have any ‘celebrity’ heroes – I would much rather have dinner with my husband, friends and family where we can have a good laugh with, or more likely at each other.