'Certainty of execution and a streamlined application process are crucial factors for brokers': Alex Alexandrou, UTB

FR: You joined UTB recently. What attracted you to the role, and what stood out about the business when you first looked at it?

At surface level, I was attracted to a successful, well established business, with stable capital, that wasn't reliant on third party funding lines. The desire for significant growth stood out and ambition more akin to a 'start-up' style business. Once I peeled back beneath the surface, the company had a 'one big family' feel to it, which is important to me. I am a strong believer that for a business to be successful, you need a happy environment on the inside, which then radiates to your customers on the outside. The role itself feels exciting, as it commands innovation to support these growth ambitions, looking at how we can improve the proposition to penetrate markets in a deeper and more meaningful way. I am utilising my experience in both the un-regulated bridging and buy-to-let sectors, drawing upon what has worked well for me over the years and bringing this into UTB and its product offering.

FR: UTB is best known for being a regulated bridging lender, what are the opportunities in unregulated bridging, what are UTB’s greatest strengths in those markets, and where is there room to grow?

The opportunity is massive, as the unregulated market is a different customer demographic, being largely driven by investor led transactions. Succeeding in the unregulated space opens the wider bridging market for UTB. Following and supporting investor trends such as HMOs, MUFBs and semi-commercial investment is where I see most opportunity. Growing pressures on increasing yields to combat rising interest rates has seen a rise in demand for higher yielding assets such as these. Supporting both "off the shelf" purchases, and fully fledged refurbishments/conversions will allow us to grow in this market, and we will put a lot of focus on customer retention. UTB already offers a compelling buy-to-let term loan, so marrying the two products, creating the ability to remain with us for the long term with ease, supporting the full life cycle of the loan is where I see great strength in the proposition. Building long-lasting, deep-rooted relationships with investors.

FR: From your early conversations with brokers, what are they telling you they most need from bridging lenders in 2026?

Speed is always a factor in bridging, that will understandably be a focal point. The market has evolved over the years, utilising tools such as AVMs and title insurance to meet the need for speed. However, offering these - which once would have been labelled as a USP - has become a pre-requisite. Also, certainty of execution and a streamlined application process, removing friction, are also crucial factors for brokers. We are challenging ourselves internally, ensuring our appetite, processes and policy match today's climate, remaining competitive amongst our peers. With further improvements just around the corner, I have no doubt we will be well positioned to support the market really well. 

FR: At the end of last year, UTB merged its mortgages, buy-to-let and bridging teams. What do you see as the benefits of this for brokers and customers?

Mortgages and buy-to-let are volume-led products, commanding process, infrastructure, and technology to support such volumes. Applying these qualities to the bridging market, which traditionally has been known for operating in a clunkier fashion, will allow us to stand out amongst our competitors, bringing efficiency to the journey for both brokers and customers. This will be helped enormously by the launch of the new bridging portal later this year, something deployed so effectively in our term lending products. As mentioned earlier, customer retention will be a key focus. We can offer a residential mortgage for those taking a regulated bridging loan with us, and a buy-to-let loan for those seeking an unregulated bridge. Bringing the departments together will ensure we are in-sync to support these customer journeys, marrying up our approach, creating ease and certainty for our brokers and customers.

FR: What are your priorities for the next 12 months, and what would success look like for you in a year’s time?

Firstly, we must ensure we provide the best-in-class service to our brokers and customers. This is something a business can do from the offset, with no approval needed, and it will help us build trust within the unregulated market. Today is about focusing on our current offering and utilising what we have. Tomorrow is about adapting the proposition to ensure we are as competitive as we can be, leading change in the market and breeding innovation across the product sets.

FR: Finally, away from the office, what keeps you busy, and what might colleagues be surprised to learn about you?

My wife and two young daughters keep me busiest, with weekends spent singing Disney Princess songs, and taking the oldest to ballet. I love to cook on the weekends, and with my Greek heritage the BBQ will be out at the first site of any sun. My colleagues may be surprised to learn that I am a collector of Pokémon cards, re-living my childhood memories. With recent news around the resurgence of this as a hobby, and their financial performance beating the performance of Gold, I am ready to take on any haters and will hopefully have the last laugh!