Posted: Monday, 9 December 2024 @ 11:40
At Rivers we like to think of ourselves as a modern business - we're dynamic, agile, and forward-thinking in our approach to business loans and asset finance. We always look at what's possible, and we like to think outside the box to make things happen, even when it comes to tricky assets many lenders won't consider. However, there is one way in which we are decidedly old fashioned, and that's when it comes to believing in the importance of decency and valuing our relationships.
A value to live by
In everything we do at Rivers, we seek to be honourable in our approach and respect every person we work with, from customers to brokers, partners to investors. To do that properly, you can't simply place it on a brand document and pull it out in presentations like a party trick. To mean something, it has to be lived every day, imbued in the little actions of team members and business processes both internal and external.
Growing carefully
For example, over the years we have grown quietly and consistently. There were opportunities to grow at a faster pace, but we were eager to maintain steady organic growth rather than risk growing too quickly. The reason? To grow too fast in this industry would have risked getting ahead of ourselves and being irresponsible to our different stakeholders, who support us, relying on us to do a good job and respect the trust they place in us.
Processes that look at the whole picture
Our human underwriting process is also an essential part of respecting the relationships we have with everyone we work with. Yes, of course we use technology to support our due diligence, but we don't let it make our decisions for us. We know that there's more to a person's story than the numbers on the page, and we like to take time to understand the whole picture in order to make the best recommendation possible, even if the answer is a 'no', or a 'not right now'.
One broker recently wrote on TrustPilot: "Ian is great to deal with and as a company they take the time to understand the circumstances of customers requirements rather than just having a 'computer says no' underwriting model which is all too familiar these days when it comes to lending. Highly recommended for businesses that are looking to grow and expand."
Valuing our brokers
Another important way in which we seek to live by a good moral compass is to honour our relationships with our brokers. As a lender, we are able to work directly with business customers, and through brokers. Given the nature of the industry, many people come to us via brokers, and we have been privileged to foster excellent relationships with a number of them over the years. No matter how much time goes by, we think it's important to remember where clients came from and to respect those relationships.
As a case in point, recently we had a client who took out a short-term business loan and had found it to be an extremely positive and helpful process. Knowing that we offer the option to renew short-term business loans after 50% of the initial borrowing has been repaid, they later came back to us to submit a request for a new loan, but they did so directly.
Recognising the client's account, our team member made a courtesy call to the broker who had introduced them to let him know the client was looking to borrow again. They were able to liaise with the client to gather the additional information that we needed, and we were able to make sure they received their commission accordingly (and transparently).
Good business is built on trust
The bottom line is this - we subscribe to the belief that good business is built on relationships and we're more interested in building long-term partnerships with people than short-term deals. Our team is one of the best examples of that, with many having been with us for 10 years or more, nurturing careers and contributing to the relationships with have with our brokers and clients as well.
We know that finance is a game of trust - we need to be able to trust the people we're lending to, and they need to be able to trust us as well. We know that whether they're brokers or business owners, the people we work with are hard-working, many are entrepreneurs representing start-ups and scale ups that either are or will become the culmination of their life's work. The funding they seek will have an enormous impact on their success and their ability to thrive and finding the right lender for that isn't something that anyone does lightly.
We are an SME, and we support SMEs - we know the importance of good relationships, which is why we are committed to them, and we are enormously appreciative of those who show the same consideration in return.
Find out more about working with Rivers