Roma Wasn’t Built in a Day
When I look at Roma Finance today, with seventy people working hard to help customers create prosperity through property, it still amazes me how far we have come. It’s taken fifteen years of graft, belief, and a genuine commitment to doing what’s right for our customers to establish the thriving business we have today.
From the Workshop to the Boardroom
My journey began in my family’s engineering business. From the age of thirteen, I’d spend my Saturday’s welding, machining, assembling, and learning the value of hard work. I thought I’d eventually take over the family business, but I realised my real ambition wasn’t to be an engineer, but to run a successful business of my own. I decided that if I understood how the numbers worked, I’d be better placed to run any business, so I left the family business to joined Arthur Andersen in corporate finance. That conversation, with my dad and grandpa, about handing in my notice at the family business still rank as among the most difficult and nerve wracking I’ve had in my career.
The few years that followed were fascinating, but when Enron collapsed and Arthur Andersen followed, I found myself looking for a new direction. I eventually joined what is now Together Money. I went from trainee to Underwriter, to Head of Underwriting, and later Credit Risk Director. Things were going well until the financial crash in 2008, and like many others, I found myself redundant and facing an uncertain future.
A Hobby That Changed Everything
I couldn’t find a job in finance for love nor money, so I joined an IT company. What I didn’t tell my boss was that I was underwriting loans during the evenings and weekends for a new start-up lender. It was that side hustle which kept my skills sharp and eventually became my future.
After about eighteen months, I decided it was time to lend under my own banner. This was the seed that grew into Roma Finance. I’d try to find deals by calling old broker contacts during my lunch breaks at the IT company. Most told me where to go (in fairly colourful language!), but eventually, an opportunity came along for a £75,000 loan. The only problem was, I didn’t have £75,000.
At the same time, my boss asked if I was still involved in lending. Expecting the worst, I told him the truth about what I’d been doing. Honesty is a value I have always lived by, and to my surprise, he introduced me to his brother who became my first investor and subsequently, my business partner. I took equity out of my house to put in some capital, and he put in the rest. On 15 December 2010, Roma Finance officially became a lender.
The following months were spent working seven days a week, IT job by day, Roma by night and weekends. I’d start at half six in the morning, split my day between the two businesses, and finish around nine at night. At weekends I was travelling up and down the UK meeting customers. It was exhausting, but I loved it.
The Founder Who Couldn’t Pay Himself
It got to the point where the business was growing, but I simply couldn’t do it all. In 2013, again by chance, I bumped into Daniel Hill, who had worked for me in my Together days. He’d also been redundant from Together and was working, albeit unhappily, in a claims management business. Fortuitously, his family had just opened a delicatessen near my house and Dan was delivering the bagels on a Sunday morning, I offered him a job on the spot.
Here’s the funny part: Roma couldn’t afford to pay us both, so I paid him instead. I am technically the founder, but Dan was Roma’s first employee and I became its second.
For the first three months, we didn’t lend a penny. We mapped out the market, studied competitors, and built a business model designed around long-term success. Neither of us had collections experience, so our aim was simple: lend in a way that helped customers succeed, not fail. If they did well, we’d never need to chase debts or repossess properties. That’s how our “Borrower First” philosophy began.
People Before Profit
From the start, I wanted to build more than a lender. I wanted to build a company that genuinely cared about people. Seeing others thrive within something I’ve created is the most rewarding part of my job. Many of our earliest team members are still here a decade later and an increasing number for more than five years, and that loyalty means a lot.
I suppose that comes from my grandpa. He arrived in the UK as a German-Jewish refugee in 1938, with nothing but determination. He built a successful engineering company from scratch. He was a self-made entrepreneur, and I’ve always wanted to emulate that spirit.
At Roma, our culture is guided by three mantras that everyone lives by:
Treat every customer like your grandparent. The only time you don’t is if they stop treating you like you’re their grandchild.
Work in a way that makes your mum proud.
Remember it’s the borrower who pays your wages.
These principles might sound simple, but they’ve shaped everything we do. We see ourselves as business partners to our customers. When they succeed, we succeed.
The Borrower First Philosophy
Our mission is to help people create prosperity through property. We lend to those who are either adding value to property or generating income from it. That includes developers, landlords, and investors at every stage of their journey.
We created what we call the Customer for Life concept. It starts with a revolving credit facility for customers who already own property. They can draw funds quickly to buy new opportunities, even at auction, and then use one of our development or refurbishment loans to undertake the project.
Once the property’s watertight, we can refinance that development loan onto a cheaper bridge, and when it starts generating income, we move it onto a buy-to-let product facilitating an equity release for the borrower to rinse and repeat. It’s a seamless cycle that helps both our customers and Roma to keep growing.
That’s where our phrase “All roads lead to Roma” comes from. We want to be there at every step, helping our borrowers expand their portfolios and build wealth safely.
Ask Where The Money Comes From
When I talk to property investors, I always give the same advice: do your due diligence.
I don’t just mean on your area, or with potential JV (Joint Venture) partners, but find out about the lender you’re borrowing from too. Ask them for references, speak to their previous customers, and find out what they’re really like to work with.
You should also ask where their money comes from. Roma gained its first institutional funding line in 2016, and that changed everything. Institutional lenders put you through intense scrutiny before backing you, and that level of oversight continues every few months. If a lender has that kind of funding, you know they’re stable and doing things properly.
Finally, communication is everything. Every development throws curveballs, and something is usually likely to go wrong. If, and when that happens, talk to your lender early, we can usually restructure or extend to keep things on track. It’s rare that our relationship with our customer breaks down but when it does, it’s usually when customers go silent and we start finding out about issues ourselves, which puts us on the back foot.
Opportunities in Uncertain Times
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the market right now, but I actually see it as opportunity. Property, like any business, is about buying well. When everyone else is cautious, those who keep moving will find the best deals.
There are still too few homes for too many people, and rents remain strong. I always tell investors to follow the money, look at where local authorities are investing in regeneration and infrastructure - those are the areas that will grow in value.
Our Values Come From Others
Earlier this year, during one of our company days, we invited four partners, a lawyer, a broker, a quantity surveyor, and an auction specialist to join a live panel. On the spot, we asked them to describe Roma in one word.
Their answers were pragmatic, approachable, personable, and reliable. Those four words perfectly summed up who we are, so they’ve become our company values. We didn’t create them; our partners did.
That, to me, says everything about what makes Roma special.
Fifteen Years of Growth
In the last five years, we’ve won twenty industry awards. Everything from Lender of the Year to Best Bridging Lender, Best Landlord Product, Specialist Lender of the Year, and Business Leader of the Year.
The recognition is brilliant, of course, but what matters most is that these awards are voted for by brokers and borrowers. They’re proof that our Borrower First approach works.
This December marks fifteen years since our first loan completed. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come, between March 2009 and September 2014, I didn’t take a penny in salary. Everything went back into building the business. When I finally paid myself, it was only because Roma could afford to pay both me and our first employee. That’s why I tell every new entrepreneur: it takes time, patience, and relentless effort. After all, Roma wasn’t built in a day!
What Comes Next
Our mission remains the same: ‘to lend to people who are creating wealth for themselves and their families, either by adding value to property or deriving income from it’.
Every new product we launch is designed around that principle, and the future looks bright. We’re growing fast, developing innovative products, and continuing to support customers through every stage of their property journey.
For me personally, the motivation hasn’t changed. I want to make my family proud, help others achieve their goals, and keep building something that lasts.
