22 | Business Elite 2021 16 Q3 2021 Best Real Estate Development Finance Leader, 2021 – London Owing to the pressure and expectations on construction companies, especially throughout the pandemic, SMEs in the industry may at times feel as though they are falling behind. For all peer-to-peer lending and financial advice, Blend Network is an expert lending and finance company that has grown exponentially in recent years. Here, we talk to Chief Strategy Officer Roxana Mohammadian-Molina about the Network’s success and future plans. With fingers in multiple pies, Blend Network is a link between property, finance, and technology. As a specialist real estate lending company, it provides development finance loans to SME property developers as well as mid-size construction companies across the UK. Roxana Mohammadian-Molina is the Chief Strategy Officer of Blend Network, a company founded by Yann Murciano who prior to creating Blend Network was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley where he spent a decade as the global head of metals trading. Roxana Mohammadian-Molina also comes from the investment banking background having previously spent a decade at Morgan Stanley and Barclays. Working alongside other senior members of Blend Network, Roxana shares that the internal culture of the company is that of diversity. She adds, “Collective teamwork, support for one another, mentorship, encouragement of new ideas, togetherness, and willpower characterise our internal culture.” For its exceptional work, Blend Network won FinTech Business of the Year, 2021, and it has now won Best Real Estate Development Finance Leader, 2021 – London. Not only has it become well-known and respected within its fields, but it has continued to grow through such a difficult time. Roxana tells us, “COVID-19 certainly exacerbated the funding gap, as traditional lenders’ obligation to administer the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) meant they had to refocus their resources.” The CBILS provides SMEs across the UK with support if they are losing revenue due to COVID-19. This is a government scheme to aid those seeing their cashflow decrease and even diminish. This is something that allowed Blend Network to develop strong relationships with these SMEs by offering an active funding lifeline to them. Roxana says, “COVID-19 was an opportunity for specialist lenders like us to show how we can and must be part of the solution to solve the funding gap and help build more homes.” Typically, Blend Network’s clients approach and consult it rather than Blend Network approaching them, due to its strong reputation in the industry. This means that clients generally find Blend Network and want to collaborate; clients know that they can trust Blend Network to deliver. With the future in mind, Blend Network is planning on growing even more, in particular by hiring more to join its lending team. As it continues to hire and expand, the company is looking to more than double its lending. As it has opened new offices to accommodate its ever-flourishing team, Blend Network has had the ability to encourage its new staff as well as nourish its existing members. After winning multiple awards, and making a huge difference to so many SMEs, Blend Network is able to celebrate success, all the while continuing to make plans for a long and exciting future of growth. Contact: Roxana Mohammadian-Molina Web Address: www.blendnetwork.com Aug21319
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