2019 forecast: Uma Rajah (CapitalRise)

I also hope that a greater proportion of borrowers recognise the advantages of using alternative sources of finance to undertake their projects and that the best specialist lenders, like CapitalRise, become a mainstream option.

Early next year, as we near Brexit D-day, I suspect that even more well-resourced developers will make opportunistic investments. I am also confident that once there’s certainty either way we will see a recovery, and expect that our products prove particularly popular among developers before this upswing gets under way. I believe that the banks who are hamstrung by capital constraints and/or that took a blanket decision to stop lending against prime developments will remain withdrawn from this area of the market, driving more demand to alternative providers of finance.

Resolution: Personally, to remember my husband’s birthday! Work wise, to continue to expand our loan book. Having originated three times the volume in 2018 versus 2017, we want to achieve a similar level of growth this year through writing increasingly bigger-ticket loans. Also, to ensure we don’t compromise on credit quality so that we can maintain our track record of zero losses or defaults, while staying true to our mantra of only lending on the highest-quality prime development opportunities where we have clear expertise.

Uma Rajah, chief executive at CapitalRise