32 Finance Monthly. Bank i ng & F i nanc i a l Se r v i ce s But it’s the residential sector that has been huge for us this year, with record demand. What are the challenges the bridging and development finance industry will be faced within 2023? The main challenges are the macro-environmental factors which are outside of our control – the cost-of-living crisis, the ongoing Ukraine war and political factors. The global backdrop and the UK economy are clearly the biggest challenges and, of course, the bridging sector isn’t immune to the wider world. It looks like we’re heading for recession and house prices will probably fall up to 10% this year. Some areas of the commercial sector – such as office space, pubs, restaurants and big retail sites are still experiencing challenges and will continue to do so in 2023. We have to be realistic about the market, but there’s plenty to be positive about too. Supply chains look to remain positive, and we are an island with not enough houses – there will always be demand. How are you planning to respond to these? Roma has achieved significant growth in 2022. This year we will be more innovative. We’re planning to launch desktop valuations and in-house legals, because these are the areas where delays are currently out of our control because of external suppliers. So we plan to bring them under our control. We also want to launch some new products that meet the needs of the current market, and we’re flexible enough to get them out quickly. Our multiple funding lines allow us to be creative in the interests of all parties. What’s your favourite thing about working within the bridging and development finance industry? The bridging and development world is really very interesting, and it is fantastic to see the creations that we are involved in. I love meeting the developers and seeing their visions come to life, knowing that we had a part in it. The property industry is forward-thinking, and we have been involved with some fantastic developments including Carbon Zero properties – these are obviously popular given the present energy issues we are experiencing. What are some of Roma Finance’s biggest achievements? In 2022 we saw exceptionally high growth and back-to-back record months. We saw a high across new business, completions and more importantly redemptions
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