An interview with Miranda

Miranda, tell us a little bit about your work, and your role:

I work as a financial sounding board. I find that I can quite quickly see areas for cost saving, and for expansion, in businesses. With an unbiased sharing of data, I can improve the financial position of both individuals and their businesses. I have struggled, myself,f so I know what it feels like to be in a financially precarious position. I learned a lot from that, so that now I can help find solutions for others. I can also usually improve deals that are brought to me.

What does your work with a client usually involve?

 Really understanding their situation. Putting myself into their shoes. I want to help people to get to higher and dryer ground, and to achieve what they are looking for.

How did you get into this field of work?

I needed a job when I was getting my M.A. I started as a secretary at St James’ Place, when I graduated. Money was important for me. I found I enjoyed the work and was appointed associate partner within a few months. My father was in the same business, so I must have learnt quite a lot through osmosis!

What excites you about your role? 

Playing my part in trying to demystify the world of finance. I am busy establishing Pitch4 Finance – the first online platform, that I am aware of - which will link borrowers, intermediaries and lenders to arrange borrowing for real estate deals and corporate funding on line. I want to help clients to reduce their fear of money.

What does your ideal client look like? 

Anyone willing to take on new ideas.

What have your highlights been so far?

Working for property developers  and doing my own property deals. I am a little cautious after the last two years. I have learnt a lot from a couple of deals which were difficult. I like the debt market and finding business – working through problems to come up with solutions that work.

What are the challenges currently facing your sector?

There are limited sources of commercial finance. The retail sector is in a very difficult place. Lenders are being generally more timid than usual. Coronavirus is not helping either. Especially in the office market. Nor is the Brexit uncertainty. But recoveries are usually surprisingly resilient – and that generally begins with increased activity.

Do you find that clients try to arrange their own loans – and then get stuck? What are the common issues here?

Using a broker like Yellowstone, or our online sister company Pitch4 Finance, helps to remove the stuckness and uncertainty felt by those trying to arrange their own loans – this is after all our area of specialism, not theirs. No one likes rejection. And this can often happen when you don’t know which lender to go to, and how to put in your application, in a market in which you are not fully up to speed.

Should a busy entrepreneur prioritise this area of work? How can they make time for it with everything else on their plate?

Getting me and my team involved very early on is a much better strategy, for reasons I have explained in answering your last question. I can access much wider choices, thereby ensuring that borrowers get products which are a better fit for their requirements. Borrowers will also have the comfort of knowing that the product which they sign up to will come as a result of a wider and more forensic search. And, I hope they will also feel comfortable in a market place which has been greatly demystified.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

To sleep on a problem.

What do you do when you’re not at work?

I spend time with my husband Adam, who is an opera singer who also runs The Prison Choir Project – a charity set up to lift the spirits of prisoners in demoralised places like Dartmoor. We have three lovely little girls: Willow, Santa and Bo, who are a delight to us both as is our latest puppy, Lola.

What do you think are the benefits of working together in a collective way as with Runway Advisors?

There are immense advantages which flow from teamwork - working on projects jointly with other safe pairs of hands - who bring their own specialisms to work with other advisors and thus provide high quality advice collectively.

Could you provide an example of a common question or issue that clients present you with, and the sort of response you would give them?

The biggest issue that I ever have to deal with is to help clients see what it is possible to achieve. Each time the details are different, but this is a common theme, present in virtually every case. My role is to empathise, interpret, and suggest the best creative solution for them.