‘I tend to have a positive outlook on life’

By Tony Sanchez 13th July 2023

In our latest Five Minute Interview, Tony Sanchez speaks to Diego Martin, Analyst at Fiduciam.

After completing his A-Levels in a British school in Madrid, Diego studied Business Administration and International Relations at IE University Madrid.

Shortly after graduating, he joined Fiduciam as an analyst in the Spanish team.

Fiduciam is an institutionally funded and pension-fund owned marketplace lender to entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises all over the UK and Europe.

Fiduciam provide bridging loans, commercial mortgages and development finance. Their clients are active in a broad range of sectors, including real estate, financial services, manufacturing, agri-food, hospitality and healthcare.

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

Working in the bridging and development finance industry means that you have the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects across different industries and sectors.

Also, you are helping people pursue their goals and projects, which many of them, without these kinds of loans, would be nearly impossible to achieve.

What keeps you focused?

Maintaining a constant awareness of both the team’s and client’s objectives and keeping the ultimate project outcome at the forefront of my mind is crucial.

The commitment that clients devote to their projects also serves as a motivating factor.

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

In my view, proactivity is key. Recognising that there is always more to learn, and taking the initiative to learn new things is the only way to expand your knowledge and skillset.

A proactive individual is always prepared to lend a hand to their team members in any aspect of the job, fostering a culture of positivity and reinforcing the notion that everyone can count on their colleagues for help.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

An optimist,100%. As an optimist, I tend to have a positive outlook on life and believe that things will generally turn out well.

While I recognise that challenges and setbacks are a natural part of life, I choose to focus on the bright side of things and always try and learn something valuable from negative experiences.

What did you want to be as a child?

Just like every kid in school, I wanted to become a footballer (for Atletico De Madrid, of course), but given my limited footballing skills, I then wanted to join the military instead.

As you can see, that didn’t go well either.

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

I believe that the current main challenge is maintaining effective risk management practices.

With numerous deals coming in every day, it is important to be responsible and understand that circumstances can change from one day to another as we have seen over the past three years.

Keeping that in mind, I believe the Spanish real estate market is very robust, having learned valuable lessons from the 2008 crisis.

Developers are now more cautious when taking risks, resulting in a more stable market with less pronounced ups and downs.

Who or what makes you laugh?

A Spanish series called La que se Avecina. It’s basically a show about neighbours living in the same building and how miserable their lives are.

Do you dread Monday mornings?

Not at all, Mondays are not that bad, I dread Tuesdays.

The reason is very simple, on Mondays, you can talk about what you have done over the weekend with your colleagues, and have a laugh about it, but on Tuesdays, you have already spoken enough about the weekend, and you are only starting the week.

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

I have come to embrace and appreciate every aspect of myself.

I truly value who I am and wouldn’t alter a thing.

With whom would you most like to have dinner?

Fernando Alonso has always been a role model for me.

He has proven to the world that when everyone thought his time was over, he managed to rise once again and be one of the best, if not the best, F1 driver in the world.