The COVID-19 outbreak has dramatically impacted the stability of the global financial markets. As the CEO of an award-winning investment platform Kuflink, Narinder Khattoare believes that the pandemic showed that relying solely on one financial source is not viable. In the event of a pandemic, financing can be lost in a matter of seconds. This means businesses are unable to trade, borrowers are unable to obtain funds, and projects are halted. “Due to how his business was set up and funded, even though it had to scale down, the company still managed to run as a successful business,” shares Narinder.
Developers could build properties and borrow money anytime they needed to since Kuflink was able to trade, fund, and lend. The versatile leader further explains that several competitors were unable to lend because of institutional and venture capital funding. As a result, Covid-19 has shown this industry the importance of diversifying your investments and funds in order to be able to borrow money from a variety of sources.
Services are being offered, borrowers are still paid, and properties are still being developed and/or refinanced. As a result, today’s lenders prepare for discerning circumstances like another pandemic. He asserts that tech will always be a significant part of their business. And the pandemic taught them how to operate remotely while still achieving the desired results.
Meet The Seasoned Leader
“The finance industry has always been a part of my life, whether lending or risk management. My passion is managing money and the risks associated with it, and B2B and consumer lending have been my specialties,” says Narinder. In the early 2000s, the seasoned leader worked for Provident Financial, a company that had been in business for almost 100 years. As a result, he learned how to lend, charge interest, and collect debts.
Managing a debt book in London’s East End was challenging, but Narinder discovered a lot about managing staff that collected debt weekly and how to keep defaults and bad debt to a minimal. The key is to minimize damaging debts, set up a framework for keeping them low, and mitigate them in the future.
Now under his leadership, Kuflink is an FCA-approved marketplace lender. The company has helped the UK economy and SME developers build properties. Its developers are building homes for the UK and bringing them to market rapidly and efficiently. Investors have received accurate, clear, and concise data with Kuflink.
By partnering with the company, borrowers can access faster decisions and acquire funds for fulfilling their projects, and brokers feel that they work effectively with it. Narinder believes Kuflink is well regarded as an alternative lender in a heavily saturated market, and has received numerous awards has demonstrated this. It aims to always get the right deal for the right customer at the right time.
Fulfilling The Financial Gap
In response to the 2008 financial crisis, when banks ceased lending, but consumers still required money, Kuflink created and developed a product. People will always need money, regardless of the market. Banks won’t lend to novice developers or landlords, which is why lenders like ours exist. Borrowers may change, but people will always need ready money. “Using a 1st charge on UK properties, we offer investors a marketplace to invest their funds into various loan types. Due to the shortage of new homes in the UK, developers must fill the gap. Funds are helping individuals and SMEs to build new homes. Since 2011, the UK property sector has been our focus, and we will continue doing so in the future,” states Narinder.
Proptech’s Growth Is Altering People View
“There’s rapid acceleration, which is positive. Initially, everything was manual,” says Narinder. Several third-party companies currently offer real-time valuations, property comparisons in the UK, and how it differentiates between demographic locations. Investors, underwriters, and committee members can thereby make informed decisions with concurrent information. Previously the information had to be collected from numerous websites.
“With open banking, you can get all of the information you need to get a true reflection of a borrower’s creditworthiness, etc. The process is simple and quick, allowing you to make informed decisions,” states Narinder.
Facing Challenges Head-on
Narinder firmly states that Kuflink initially experienced challenges because it was a new lender competing with institutions that had a lengthy history and established reputation. Hence, it had to come up with a practical and creative approach to lending money. There’s a constant focus on rates, but people should not only focus on this, but they should also consider service, TCF, consumer duty, and the right product for the right customer. The seasoned leader is motivated to knock down that barrier as soon as possible.
Strategize Game Plans
The Kuflink strategy emphasizes diversification. While some investors want to be hands-off and spread their money across numerous projects, others demand complete project details. In Narinder’s opinion, diversifying funds over several projects is a lesser risk than putting funds into one project. Kuflink is able to strategize by utilizing their industry research with consideration to the general economic climate.
When someone in the market lowers rates or raises LTVs, the versatile leader and his team don’t react hastily as a company. Their decisions are determined by market conditions. It may be that their competitors’ loan books are larger, but the interest and fees could be higher. So their strategy is to do the right deal for the right clients at the right time. However, this does not mean your default and recovery levels will remain unchanged. It may not be possible to lend more if you lack the infrastructure.
Beneficial Insights
As lenders grow, Narinder sees investors as a chance to assist developers in building more homes in the UK. There is a massive shortage of properties in the UK, but new technologies are helping. There are more opportunities to build properties, but it takes a while to do so through high street banks. The UK requires more advanced technology, faster decision-making, and streamlined processes.
Also, similar industries must grasp what the market needs and expects in order to be on the same page. As a result, traditional methods won’t work as well. To make wise decisions, lenders rely on cutting-edge technology and data-driven information. Algorithms will help Kuflink make quick, straightforward decisions in turn, but it still needs some kind of human involvement in the sector.
Key Milestones
Narinder wants to expand their offerings and bring more products to market. Presently, Kuflink provides short-term bridging and development loans, but it is also exploring second-charge loans and consumer loans, which allow investors to diversify their funds across short-term, medium-term, and long-term investments.
Similarly to this, the versatile leader and his team are analyzing SIPPs (Self-Invested Personal Pensions), which would allow investors to transfer assets to our platform through a SIPP. Along with forward innovation, they are constantly working on other important features that will enhance the platform for their investors.
One of Kuflink’s primary USPs is paying attention to its investors and adjusting as necessary. It gives its investors and brokers a voice. Narinder explains this further by taking an example; several brokers recommended that Narinder and his team use AVMs, remote real-time valuations, rather than physical valuations. Deals were completed quicker and more effectively as a result. Growth-wise, things are continuing as usual.
Narinder asserts, “My goal is to support, develop and empower the team at Kuflink. It is my belief that we have the right team and infrastructure, enabling us to achieve organic growth and achieve our goals as a business. New acquisitions are always welcome. I would like to invite more businesses to join the group, which means more opportunities, future directors, and a chance for me to move around on the board.”
A Piece Of Valuable Advice
As a successful entrepreneur and seasoned leader, Narinder advises, “While I cannot provide advice, bricks and mortar will always increase in value, and as long as you are determined enough to survive any shortfalls along the way, you will be in good form. You’ll see other opportunities like crypto. However, in my opinion, investing in a regulated market is more secure than in an unregulated market.”