Brickflow Thinks

Hello. Welcome to our blog, curated to help you make smarter decisions when it comes to development finance.

You’ll discover helpful how-tos, essential what-not-to-dos and expert advice, along with opinion and industry insights, from our team of property finance specialists.

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Industry Insights (Q4 2021) – the inside track of what we’re seeing in property development

These reports were designed to bring you news and trends from across our industry, not as a channel to toot our own promotional horn. It seems Brickflow is becoming a more significant part of our...

How Phasing a Property Development Can Help You Achieve Success Sooner

Cash flow, as well as stretching your equity, is king if you’re a developer. And while it may take longer to build out a phased scheme (and potentially losing some economies of scale during the...

The inside track on what we’re seeing in property development – quarter 3, 2021

The huge increase in material costs has been well-publicised and it’s true to say that if you haven’t planned for this change in circumstances it can and will have a disastrous impact on…

Brickflow edges towards £50 million in approved loans since official launch

When we secured nearly £50million in approved loans within our first six months, we were keen to shout about it. Here’s the news story we shared with the media…

Former Paragon Bank Development Finance Director joins Brickflow

Brickflow, the UK’s first online search engine for development finance loans, today announces that Tim Noble, former Director of Paragon Bank Development Finance…

Brickflow officially launches

Brickflow is a property technology platform which aims to revolutionise the property finance sector by digitally connecting borrowers and lenders in seconds….

2021 – a great year to be a property developer

Property development is counter-cyclical. The optimum time to get into the market is when prices are falling (or forecast to fall). Land prices were high going into the pandemic, compressing margins and making it difficult...

How to get your development finance application approved

Many borrowers fall at the application stage when trying to obtain development finance. While there’s no denying it’s a complex process and it’s likely to get even more challenging as the ripples of Covid-19

Why data is no longer a dirty word in property development

For a long time, mentioning data in any discussion about property development would make people’s eyes glaze over. It was the dirty word that could hush a room.

Brickflow: Development Finance Guide (on page)

The rise of ‘alternative lenders’ has therefore been a phenomenon for the property development market as a whole, bringing a more flexible and accessible way for borrowers to secure funding.

The Development Finance Paradox

Unlike regular mortgages or personal loans, when it comes to development finance the cheapest is rarely the best. Many property developers fall into the trap of focussing all their efforts on finding the lowest interest...

Covid-19: 5 practical tips for Property Developers to survive and thrive (contd.)

Whilst speculation has gone into overdrive surrounding how Boris Johnson will ease the UK’s Coronavirus lockdown on Sunday, it’s clear it won’t be business as usual on Monday morning. And social distancing in some form,...

Covid-19: 5 practical tips for Property Developers to survive and thrive

Coronavirus is having a massive impact on our industry and will continue to do so for the rest of 2020. Last week, one of Brickflow’s Founders, Ian Humphreys, shared his views on how the pandemic...

Coronavirus

Needless to say, Coronavirus is having a massive impact on everything and everyone and may continue to do so for the majority of 2020. Deals will definitely be tougher to do in the short-term, but...

Developer Experience vs The Site – What’s more important?

At first glance, the answer to this question might appear very easy. The site is, of course, the most important. Isn’t it? To a degree it is. It’s certainly the case that you wouldn’t get...

How to become a (really good) property developer

So, what are the essential skills you need to become a property developer, and how can you convince a lender you’ve got the right experience to make a development scheme a success? Here’s what we...

Five development finance pitfalls to avoid

With smart decision-making at the core of property development, there are few more important ones to make than choosing the right development loan. But, there are some common mistakes that even the most experienced developers...

Cracking the capital stack

Defined The Capital Stack is the structure of your development finance, or the different layers that fund a scheme. The typical stack has three layers, and normally includes senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity. Strategically...