Non bank lender and development finance specialist Assetline Capital has announced that it is to open a new branch in Melbourne, with experienced operative Andrew Vamvarakis slated to head up the Victorian department.
Assetline has long been known in the broker community in Sydney, and the new expansion sees a significant name enter the non bank space in Victoriav.
“It’s an amazing sector to be in at the moment,” said Andrew Vamvakaris, who has 20 years of experience in property development. “The banks have evacuated that niche area between $1m and $50m range, and left development and construction under serviced.”
“That’s what it comes down to: if you love development and construction, and you want to support that, then non bank lending is the way to go.”
“You’ve got that traditional relationship building and the difference with Assetline is that they have the back of house power to not only process but also give intelligence and guidance to deliver that service. They know that industry and what they’re looking at.”
“Take today: I left at 6.30am to meet a builder on site at 7.30, interview them, look through their product and get what their delivery methods and pinch points are.”
“That’s something that traditional banking used to do, where they used to get to know people, but they’ve left it behind unless you’re really big. It’s a great time to be involved in something like this for the industry.”
Vamvakaris is confident that Assetline will be there to work with brokers in Melbourne the way that they have in Sydney.
“Brokers are our lifeblood,” he said. “We need outreach and what’s great about brokers is that they’re out there getting the new developers and contractors that are looking for funding, and have these great relationships that they’ve developed over time.”
“Assetline doesn’t take that for granted. It’s been present in the Melbourne market, but when you want to grow significantly you’ve really got to turn to your brokers. They’re your front line. You’ve got to be able to service them and give them the back up they need to do their jobs, which is to have a range of products that can support various parts of the development.”
