Our new brand identity revealed
Our new brand identity revealed today (March 2nd), reflects the next significant step in the evolution of the growing business, asserting Mint’s unique position in the specialist finance market as it looks to grow its loan book to £250m with the introduction of a portfolio of market-beating products.
The rebrand is the latest in a string of developments at Mint, including the introduction of specialist Development and Bridging Underwriting teams, the addition of a specialist Completions team, and the appointment of a senior digital, PR & communication team.
Mint is recognised for its unique, flexible approach to lending, its people-first culture, and commitment to launching new and innovative products that meet the Borrower and Lender’s needs, has enjoyed near sustained year-on-year growth since inception in 2011.
Whilst the ambitions of Mint continue to grow, Founder and Managing Director, Andrew Lazare, is clear the business’s culture will never change.
“I started Mint from my garage in 2011,” said Lazare. “At the time, my ambition was to build a loan book of £10m. I quickly realised that raising the money was, in the grand scheme of things, the easy part, and that what was hard, really hard, was building the trust and long-standing relationships with introducers.
“We did achieve this, and that is down to our people. Over the last ten years we’ve grown from being a small family business to an incredible 45-strong team, with every member playing a significant role in Mint’s success.
“We’ve invested in the best people and created specialist teams that work extremely closely with introducers and Borrowers through every stage of the process to deliver exceptional partner service – we like to think we provide a human touch to lending. We’ve ambitious plans for growth but our people and our partners will always be at the heart of Mint Property Finance.”
Speaking specifically on the re-brand and why, after ten successful years the business felt it time for a refresh, Lazare said: “When I launched Mint, Bridging finance was what we did. The market has changed significantly since then and so has the business.
“At the moment 50% of our business is funding either ground up developments or loans with a development or refurbishment angle to them. I think we miss out on loan opportunities as some introducers don’t realise the strength and depth of our proposition and offering.
“The time was right for us to rebrand and to launch a new identity that better reflects the ever-growing range of products and services we are proud to provide, and to position us for even greater success working alongside our partners in the future.
“The name was borne following an extensive audit of the business and the sector. We spoke with key stakeholders, introducers and of course the team to better understand what Mint meant to them. We were blown away by the feedback. We had started the process open to the prospect of a total name change but discovered that Mint had much more equity than any of us appreciated, it was an immensely proud moment.
“Our partners had a solid understanding of what made Mint special, and how our approach to lending makes us different to the competition. It became clear Mint had to remain and Mint Property Finance was decided. It says what we do.”
The brand re-launch sees a new logo, website and an extensive suite of brand assets, clearly defining our five core business products – Bridging, Light, Medium and Heavy refurbishment, and then of course a development product.
In the coming weeks and months, the business is set to launch a suite of market-beating products. It heralds the start of an ambitious three-year commercial strategy.
Director, Paul Wertheim, said: “We’re ten years into the business and yet it still feels like we’re in the early stages. The scope for expanding partnerships and continued growth is vast, and we’re committed to working with introducers and Borrowers to realise the potential, setting new standards for best practice.”