‘We provide capital to property developers and investors so they can develop, refurbish or convert property’

By Tony Sanchez 17th February 2025

In our latest five minute interview, Tony Sanchez speaks to Lewis Whittaker, Business Development Manager at Octane Capital.

Lewis began his career in specialist finance in 2020. He joined Octane Capital from Lowry Capital, where he spent three years as a Business Development Manager, managing a portfolio of introducers and direct clients across the UK.

At Octane, Lewis is responsible for developing and managing new and existing introducer relationships across the Midlands and the North.

His approach is focused on building strong, long-lasting partnerships, built on trust, collaboration and a deep understanding of the client’s needs.

Lewis is dedicated to delivering tailored financial solutions and exceptional service, ensuring that both clients and introducers have the support they need to succeed in today’s property market.

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

Seeing tangible results for clients.

From an outsider’s perspective, what we do is simple.

We provide capital to property developers and investors so they can develop, refurbish or convert property. But let’s face it, no transaction is simple, and they all have individual complexities.

I enjoy working with clients to get around these complexities to deliver the funding they need.

What keeps you focused?

Setting goals works well for me.

I decide on one large goal which gives me something to strive for before breaking down into all the small wins I need to achieve to get there.

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

Dependability is very important; I think everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to giving a great service to introducers and clients.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

I’m an optimist, but I think you need to be careful to not to be over optimistic.

It’s great to have a positive outlook in general and I carry that into my broker relationships. But equally, I am realistic and transparent.

If I were a broker, I wouldn’t want my time wasted or worse, lose a client because of an over optimistic BDM.

What did you want to be as a child?

When I was really young, I always fancied being a pilot.

When I got a little older, I wanted to be an investment banker, but looking back that was solely based on earning potential and not the actual job!

I still wouldn’t mind learning to fly a small plane, just not as a profession.

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

A big issue that the industry is seeing is developments going over term and over budget.

This is why our development exit product is so popular.

With everything that has gone on over the past few years, it doesn’t take much to go wrong for a developer to come to the end of their development facility needing more time to finish and sell their units.

With some lenders charging extortionate extension fees, or not willing to provide extensions at all, it’s easy to see why so many are under strain.