There is a new solution for brokers looking to provide their SME clients with a source of funding to buy their premises: linking them directly with an investor.
Briqwise have been disrupting the traditional market for financing commercial real estate deals by matching those who want to invest in bricks and mortar with those requiring funding for their business.
“What we are aiming for is matching an investor who is looking to get into property-backed loans with a borrower who requires funds and have a property to provide a security,” said Martin Mulder, a partner at Briqwise. “We try to match them up and create a transaction between the borrower and the lender, without too much interference.”
“Briqwise collates all the information from both parties and, based on the merits of the security and of the borrower, and the needs of the investor, we match it up and they then enter into a contract with each other.”
“The main thing is transparency: we’re not a company that goes out raising funds. The funds that you put in as an investor go straight to the borrower. If the borrower pays you 8%, the investor receives 8%. That’s the main difference. It’s really a borrower direct to lender platform.”
The tech has been used in the Netherlands in the past, and is brand new to Australia.
“It’s quite new,” said Mulder. “Most existing funds are not peer-to-peer, they’re more like wholesale funders where you go to the market, raise money at a certain yield to pay to your investors and then go about selling that money to people that need it, the borrowers, at a margin.”
“Briqwise doesn’t do that. We match people that require money with people that have money, and they then pay the interest rate as agreed.”
“The unique thing about Briqwise is that we then manage the loan on behalf of the investor and there is a one-off fee at the beginning, and the same for the borrower: they pay a one-off fee when they come in. That’s it.”
For brokers, it may present a different option to help their SME clients to get the best deal possible.
“The loan agreement is between the two parties, and Briqwise manages that,” added Mulder.
“Another interesting aspect is that Briqwise has a factoring agreement for the interest that the borrower pays to the investor, which is because we give a guarantee to the investor that they receive all their interest.”
“In the case that they can’t pay the interest, Briqwise takes over the loan and starts managing it out, which is different to everyone else out there.”
