TENN Capital has come a long way since it was decided, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, that there was a gap in the market and that it was time to set up a “high-value international lending business” in response.
Now, having overcome the obstacles associated with launching a business – one of the most significant of which was securing the capital to support the anticipated loans – Tenn has gone from strength to strength, enjoying four consecutive years of growth and expanding the team to cater for the ever-increasing demand.
While the business is headquartered in Guernsey, it also has operations in Jersey and Gibraltar, with the Jersey office led by managing director Steve O’Brien.
“As the business has grown – largely driven by client referrals and the relationships we have developed with brokers and introducers – we have become a partner of choice for many clients seeking high-value, cross-border loans,” reflected Steve.
“And in line with that growth, which has taken our live loan book to more than £250m, we have recruited some key people to help maintain our quality of service, while also identifying further product offerings to drive further development.”
Among those to have recently joined the team are Chief Commercial Officer Chris Wright and Head of Structured Credit Jordan Cameron.
“Our focus is on quality rather than quantity,” Steve explained. “It is therefore vital that every hire enhances both the client and team experience. With Jordan focusing on building a structured finance offering and Chris looking at global product offerings which can help us to scale the business further, we have two people who complement the skills of the existing team, while bringing expertise in different areas as well.”
Critically, says Steve, each team member is chosen not just for their technical ability but also for their mindset and alignment with the company’s goals.
“At the heart of Tenn is a high-performance mindset,” he reflected. “We want our people to drive our standards and do the right thing. We may be a relatively small team, with 13 people across our jurisdictions, but we are a strong team and we care about our clients and about each other.”
Helping to ingrain that mindset in the company’s culture, he says, is the example that he and Matt strive to set.
“We get involved in all areas as required and our leadership approach is very much centred around effort,” he explained. “All our team members perform at a high level, and I always say that effort is key to that performance. Talent without effort doesn’t give you anything; it is the effort that transforms potential into results.”
Also resulting from that effort, he says, is speed and attention to detail.
“We give the team members autonomy to make decisions, which enables us to move very fast as a company,” he stressed. “Ultimately, Tenn is a solutions provider and when clients come to us with a query, they need a quick response. In some cases, a solution may not be immediately obvious, but we will always delve into whatever it is that they are trying to achieve and find a way to do it.”
Adding to the complexity of many of the queries which come into Tenn, says Steve, is their cross-border nature.
“If, for example, a Jersey client wants to buy a house somewhere in Europe, it can be quite difficult for them to arrange the finance,” he said, “and they would probably struggle to secure funding from a high street bank.
“However, we specialise in helping high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to secure loans or short-term finance when they are buying properties overseas. While lending against properties in different countries is incredibly complex, it is also very interesting, and we have now lent against real estate in 21 jurisdictions all over the world.”
And it is a market, says Steve, which has remained largely unaffected by geopolitical events and post-Covid interest-rate rises.
“The market is quite buoyant at the moment, especially in Spain and Italy,” he explained. “Although many property transactions were hit by the rise in interest rates after Covid, the upper end of the market wasn’t really affected. Our clients still want access to capital and they are still investing in multi-million-pound properties around the world.”
While supporting property acquisitions across the globe, much of the team’s work revolves around UK deals, which is why Tenn has recently launched a new funding line specifically for that market.
“The UK-specific credit line has been designed to support the financing requirement for clients with assets in the UK,” Steve said. “This product has been designed not just in response to the demand for residential properties but also for commercial real estate, a new area for us but one which is a natural extension of our portfolio.”
With further new products in the pipeline and a continuing focus on service, Steve is confident about the future of the company, which has just celebrated its fourth anniversary.
“This year has been our best yet, and that is a trend which looks set to continue,” he said. “The service element is really important to us. It is vital that we are engaged and that our team members are able to respond quickly to client queries. We also recognise the importance of good communication because if you get that right, initial queries can lead to something greater. That’s why it has been important for us to expand the team, so that we have the ability to respond to more opportunities and provide finance solutions for more clients.
“Having doubled our live loan book to more than £250m this year, and with the deals that are coming up before the end of the year, I have no doubt that we will hit some serious figures in 2025, and I’d like to think that by this time next year, we will have lent close to £1bn to clients since launch and hired further team members, all while maintaining our client-focused approach and commitment to doing things the right way.”