Black & White Bridging to upskill its entire workforce
01 May 2024
Black & White Bridging, which specialises in bridging finance, has committed to upskill its entire workforce over the next few months. The specialist lender will use the Certified Practitioner in Specialist Property Finance (CPSP) qualification as a framework to do this.
One of the aims of this training will be to further improve Black & White’s service, by raising standards, and by building skills and knowledge. Black & White already has a turnaround time from application to completion of just 57 days, which is ahead of the industry average, as well as consistent five-star customer reviews on Trustpilot. Black & White will invest in its entire workforce, including the leadership team, to make sure they complete and pass the CPSP. This will ensure the lender continues to provide the highly-bespoke approach to lending it is becoming well known for, while shortening turnaround times even further.
Black & White Bridging’s relationship manager, David McCarthy is the first person from the company to go through the programme. David was a CeMap qualified, residential mortgage broker, before switching to focus on bridging.
The CPSP course was launched in May last year, developed as an initiative by the Financial Intermediary and Broker Association (FIBA), the Association of Short-Term Mortgage Lenders (ASTL), and the London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF). The training standard was introduced to raise educational standards within the specialist property finance industry and Black & White Bridging is dedicated to putting its entire workforce through the programme.
Black & White Bridging has dedicated lending managers, who are always available to speak to brokers and ensure that every step from application to completion is clear and transparent. This truly transparent approach is clearly working as Black & White has doubled its total lending within the last two years.
David McCarthy, relationship manager at Black & White, said: “It is really refreshing to work for a company who is so dedicated to training and to everybody in the company being the best they can be.
“I found the CPSP to be a really valuable process to go through. Making the switch to bridging from the mortgage market, I wanted to make sure I had the same in-depth knowledge that I had of mainstream mortgages. Completing the CPSP really took my knowledge of the bridging markets up a level, in a way that means I will be able to provide additional value and help to the brokers that we deal with every day.”
Vic Jannels, chairman at the ASTL and one of the initiators of the CPSP said: “The CPSP helps to significantly raise standards in the specialist lending industry, increasing both knowledge and the level of professionalism. Black & White Bridging is one of the first companies which has committed to put every person at every level through the training, clearly demonstrating its commitment to operating at the very highest standards. This is something we would like to see rolled out across the specialist industry.”
