How Together has weathered 50 years of change – and gone from strength to strength

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Celebrating 50 years in business, Together has built an enviable reputation as a market-leading specialist lender at the cutting edge of industry trends. Its evolution is inspiring

In business for 50 years, specialist lender Together employs more than 750 colleagues from its Cheshire headquarters and has a loan book of £6.8bn. Its products stretch across a wide range of personal and commercial finance, including residential mortgages, short-term finance, buy-to-let, commercial and semi-commercial mortgages and loans, auction finance, and development funding. Together achieved a profit of £47.7 million in Q4 2023, and recently achieved CCA Global Accreditation for excellence in customer services, while launching a new retention product to support existing customers. These achievements are a testament to its half-century of lending. It’s no easy feat to build the stellar reputation that

Together: Key facts

1974

“We pride ourselves on being a relationship lender, finding success through building close bonds with our customers… maintaining these relationships really makes the difference”

James Briggs, Together

Together enjoys in the financial services industry, but from its humble beginnings it has done just that. “Since 1974, we’ve been here opening doors for our customers, helping them to achieve their property ambitions,” says James Briggs, Together’s head of intermediary sales. “Our story began with a chance conversation over the sale of a car, which led to our first mortgage, funded on a three-bedroom house in Oldham, in 1975.” Decades may have passed, yet there are similarities between the economy of those early days and the one customers experience today. “While [the situation was] less volatile, first-time buyers in the early 1970s faced high prices before a dramatic drop in the economy took hold in 1974,” notes Briggs. “We’ve weathered a lot of difficult financial periods in our time – 2008 stands out particularly. “Some of our key milestones since have included our first bridging loan, which we funded in 1985. We began commercial finance lending in 1986, and our first short-term auction finance products launched in 2003. We also onboarded our first graduate cohort in 2007, while our loan book reached £1bn in 2013.”

“Lending comes in a lot more forms than it did back in the ‘70s, and, in line with the market, we have evolved and adapted our product offering over time,” says Briggs. “One of the key ways in which we have found success over the past 50 years is through our ability to see and engage with upcoming markets. For example, we saw bridging finance appear in the '80s and knew straight away this was going to be a strong product in the future. “HMOs [houses of multiple occupancy], student accommodation, and shared-ownership mortgages were all

emerging markets in which we saw potential over the last few decades, and we jumped on. Holiday lets, in particular, are an area in which we saw success; at the time, many of the mainstream banks didn’t see it as a viable market, but now it has exploded.” He continues, “Last year it was reported that over 50 per cent of holiday-let property owners had started their rental business in the previous three years, and around 63 per cent of them are planning to expand their portfolios over the next five years. “There is now a huge demand for these products, and in getting ahead of the game we have found ourselves a major player in the market.” Together has experienced continued growth through its broad product offering, flexible criteria, and strong culture of customer service, Briggs explains. “We pride ourselves on being a relationship lender, finding success through building close bonds with our customers,” he says. “In this age of extreme digitalisation, we've found that maintaining these relationships really makes the difference. “Whilst other lenders have moved away from the personal touch in recent years, focusing heavily on digitalisation and call centres, we still put a lot of stock in the good old-fashioned method of dedicated business development managers on hand to help at any time.

“At Together, though, we’re committed to taking a common-sense view, which can consider multiple and complex income sources, and every case is reviewed by an experienced underwriter.” Social housing is facing difficulties, and Together has stepped up to meet the challenge. “Pressure has mounted on local and central governments, due to a critical undersupply of social housing available and insufficient development in this area,” Briggs notes. “In order to address this, we have a dedicated social housing department at Together, which provides much-needed funding to help businesses in the sector grow and bring affordable housing to those in need. “It’s widely known that buy-to-let [BTL] investors, particularly, are struggling in the current market, facing reduced returns because of a rise in rates over the past couple of years. We are looking to support those committed to investing in BTL property, by factoring in top-slicing and considering forecast rental income – factors that other lenders may overlook.” He added, “We support investors looking to diversify their portfolios, whether through new acquisitions or adapting the use of their current assets. These can include short-term lets, holiday lets, and social housing, or the conversion to multi-unit blocks or houses of multiple occupancy.”

Together continues to perform strongly due to a unique way of doing business, Briggs believes. “Things have changed a lot in 50 years,” he reflects. “The average UK house price has risen by a startling 158 per cent over the past five decades – taking inflation into account – and the average age of homeownership for millennials stands at almost ten years older than when the baby boomer generation was first getting onto the ladder. “We are now one of the top providers of bridging finance in

the UK, and it is an area in which we are seeing much more activity now that mainstream lenders are tightening their criteria and making access to finance more difficult. It is encouraging that, while affordability remains a concern, there continues to be a healthy appetite for homeownership.” He continues, “We started small at Together, but we’ve grown based on relationships and reputation for flexibility, speed, and range of products, and this is something we have continued to focus on in our day-to-day operations. “Above all, we’re still continuing to work to our central purpose – to be the UK’s most trusted lender for our customers, colleagues, and communities.” Together believes an increasingly stringent one-size-fits-all approach to affordability is taking over the sector, driven by automation on the high street. “I think the market will be unrecognisable in 50 years, and automation and AI will play a significant role in the mortgage application process,” Briggs predicted. “This does bring into question just how much customers will be able to enjoy a personal relationship with their lender. “Together has helped thousands of people realise their property ambitions over the last five decades, and we know that in the current climate, there are so many more throughout the UK who need the help of a specialist lender to make their next move, either personal or commercial, into a reality.” Together’s recent Commercial Market Sizing report suggests that total commercial lending will increase from £90bn in 2023 to £118bn in 2028 – a rise of 32 per cent. Property developers, landlords, and investors cite that the biggest challenges to their expansion plans are inflation (30 per cent) and high interest/mortgage rates (27 per cent). Just over half of SMEs (52 per cent) consider that specialist lenders are best-equipped to address their needs. “Other asset classes come and go, but property will always present a viable investment opportunity,” predicts Briggs. “Both now and into the future, there will always be a place for specialist lending with a company you know and trust. At Together we will continue to be recognised as a lender who supports clients on their own merits, not taking a ‘tick-box’ approach to our transactions.” Briggs concluded, “We’ll continue to be there to support our partners, customers, and colleagues, bringing our common-sense approach to lending to help open doors for everyone – hopefully for another 50 years to come.”

Mixed race family standing in front of a house

The solution: How Together grew its business – and maintains a competitive edge today

The takeaways: Why Together is well positioned to enjoy continued success over the next 50 years

Published 29 April 2024

“One of the key ways in which we have found success over the past 50 years is through our ability to see and engage with upcoming markets … getting ahead of the game”

James Briggs, Together

A UK property lender based in Cheadle, Together has for 50 years been helping its customers realise their property ambitions, with a vision to be the country’s most valued lender. Whether it’s about starting out or scaling up, Together is proud to open doors for individuals, families, entrepreneurs, SMEs, businesses, landlords, and developers, with a broad range of products and speed of service, creating long-lasting relationships with customers and business partners. Together provides a common-sense approach to lending, judging each case on its merits, with high levels of customer service to ensure that opportunities are fulfilled.

Founded

Cheadle, Cheshire

Based in

750

Staff

£6.8bn

Loan book

£47.7 million in Q4 2023

Profit

The average house cost £8,915 in 1974 and £284,950 in 2023

How the market has changed

The increase is 158%, allowing for inflation

The average age of a first-time buyer in the ‘70s was 25 – now it’s 34

The average annual salary in 1974 was £1,981 – now it’s £34,963

The scenario: How did an emerging lender become a trusted brand?

“This applies to our colleagues as well as our customers. We’re big believers in investing in people, attracting the best talent, and nurturing careers. This is passed on to our customers, where they can expect a personalised service that other lenders may not provide.” With the economy beset by greater challenges, the property finance market has become more specialised. “An increasing number of customer behaviours – such as complex income streams, self-employment, and other alternative incomes – do not fit automated profiles, and some high street banks are looking to streamline with restricted lending criteria,” Briggs says.

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