Dec 24, 2021 | Bridge Help Ventures, Bridge News, Charity, General News

As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on what’s been a challenging but successful year for Bridge Help and look ahead to 2022.

The pandemic is far from over, however there has been at least some return to normality for parts of the year enabling us to attend industry events and meet with brokers in the latter part of the year.

It has been nice, when restrictions allowed, to be able to get the Bridge Help team together in the office. Zoom is great but nothing beats a face-to-face meeting to catch up properly.

Being able to meet up has been important for the Bridge Help team in 2021 as we have seen the business and team grow rapidly, helping us gear up for what looks to be a prosperous 2022.

Here’s how 2021 looked for Bridge Help:

January – Bridge Help launched its brand-new co-funding division, Bridge Help Ventures, offering people the opportunity to fund alongside us in short-term commercial bridging loans with returns of up to 8%.

February – Reflecting the increased interest in Bridge Help’s loan offering, Katie Snodden was welcomed to the team as a Business Development Manager.

March – Bringing 13 years in client relationship management and corporate and commercial banking, Naseer Ahmed joined us as Head of Sales for London and the South East.

April – After a period of significant growth, Bridge Help required a dedicated loan manager and we were delighted to welcome Martin Bray to the team. 

May – The growth continued in May with appointment number four. Tyrone Alexander joined us as a Business Development Manager, managing relationships with brokers in the Midlands.

June – Chesterfield Citizens Advice appointed Bridge Help’s Business Development Manager Phoebe Sellars as its youngest ever trustee.

July – Our CEO, Chris Sellars, called on the bridging sector to be ‘more transparent and focus on great service and delivery’ at the Mortgage Business Expo (MBE) Leeds 2021. Chris was part of the specialist panel at MBE Leeds discussing the role of specialist finance in post-COVID recovery.

August – As well as our Loan and Underwriting Director, Sam Wood turning 40, our team of BDMs got nearly £2million of loans over the line in August.

September – We waved goodbye to our yellow and grey logo and welcomed a bold new streamlined brand. With a fresh new colour palette and clean lines, the new brand was introduced to reflect Bridge Help’s modern, forward-thinking approach to short-term commercial finance and was launched to the industry at MBE London 2021.

October – A busy month. We showcased the new brand at the Mortgage Business Expo in London and our Bridge Help Ventures division featured in The Times Financial and Legal Checklist.

November – November saw Bridge Help exhibiting again, this time at The Finance Professional Show at Olympia, London. We were also delighted to be a finalist in the Derbyshire Times Business Excellence Awards, which was a great excuse for a team night out. We also launched our annual Chesterfield Foodbank appeal.

December – We rounded off the year with a great deal closed just two days before Christmas by Naseer. We were also delighted to give back to the community and donated £4,360 of food and toiletries to Chesterfield Foodbank, smashing our original target of £2,021 thanks to the hard work of Phoebe and the very kind donations from brokers and suppliers. Thank You.

From all the team at Bridge Help, we would like to thank you for your continued support throughout the year and wish you a merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year.