The company was originally formed in September 2001 to provide a secured loan packaging service to local mortgage intermediaries.
In 2006 they became one of the HOT 100 Welsh companies to work for and won Orange National Employer of the Year in 2007.
The company has featured in the Fast Growth 50 listings of Welsh businesses for three years in a row and this year was given an award for 'Sustainable growth over a three year period' and 'Fastest growing regional business - financial services sector.'
MYI: How do you feel you can better your competition?
MC: I think it's important to note that anyone can make great money in the good times. The competition that is currently out there is strong, experienced and should never be underestimated. These guys have made it through the crunch and have shown resilience through the tough times.
Where we stand out is firstly being among this group, and secondly having an established, UK wide brand that is well-known for providing the highest quality service.
I think that we can safely say we have provided loan packaging services to more financial intermediaries than any of the current competition, so we use all our marketing skills and experience to highlight that we are the biggest and best loan packager for intermediaries.
MYI: What do you see in y3s's future?
BD: We've diversified the product range of the business in order for it to survive the current crisis; now we offer life insurance, mortgages and debt management plans as well as secured loans. We sell at least 1 product to 850 new clients each month. These departments are complimentary in that they all feed business back into each other.
This has allowed us to grow to 90 members of staff in the last 15 months having 5000 sales conversations per day with brokers and potential clients. We plan to stay as we are for the next 6 months and digest the growth we have created to date, then by Christmas we should have a good overview of the political and economic climate to help plan our next stage of growth.
Over the next 2/3 years we would like to develop our brand into a household name through strategic marketing, and use this as a platform for flotation. But as we have all seen over the last few years, plans can and do change, so we will see.
MYI: What does your business provide to assist others in maximising potential in their business?
MC: All the products we offer are available to financial intermediaries, and allow them to create revenue streams from the enquiries that they would normally throw away or not know what to do with.
The broker need only pass us the lead and we take care of the rest, which leaves them to concentrate on their core activities. Intermediaries recognise the need to squeeze every drop of potential income from each client. Our facilities, product range and marketing are all built around this notion.
MYI: What has been your biggest help throughout this difficult financial climate?
BD: Undoubtedly we have a very strong management team of loyal, home grown talent in our group. It is these people, that, against all the odds that stood with us during the worst parts of the credit crunch, and believed in our collective ability to weather the storm, develop new revenue streams and come out stronger on the other side.
We feel confident about the future of the business because of what we have all been through and what we have achieved together as a result.
MYI: What is y3s's biggest achievement in your eyes?
MC: For me it was beating Asda, Barclays Bank and Innocent Fruit Smoothies to win Orange National Employer of the Year in 2007. The award was presented to us by Sir Trevor McDonald at a glitzy do in Park Lane. The judging panel found that we had shown consistent generosity and benevolence to our staff. We were the absolute underdog, so it was truly a proud moment for us when we won.
BD: It was a superb evening, but for me it was winning the sustainable growth award for appearing in the Fast Growth 50 (Welsh business awards) for 4 years in a row. Wales is quite an insular business community that loves to celebrate its business achievements. You can be a big fish in a small pond here, and successful entrepreneurs don't go unnoticed, which is very motivational for the SME crowd.
MYI: What do you see in the foreseeable future with regards to the loans market?
MC: Secured lending is slowly coming back to life, albeit with much more rigid lending criteria, although that is changing bit by bit. Its better now than it has been in the last 2 years and even though we brokers are not yet out of the mire, if you are a knowledgeable brokerage, you can now make a living again from brokering secured loans.
Just to be able to say that once more is a nice feeling. The real entrepreneurs in this market are those that head the main second charge lenders they are navigating the choppiest of waters; Prestige, Nemo, Link and Blemain are all bucking the trend and keeping the market alive. Just like running water, capitalism always finds a way.
We are seeing those lenders relax their criteria little by little, testing the ground with solid products and tweaking where they feel they can add value while controlling quality. I have no doubt that the market will not withstand dubious/speculative brokers as it did before the credit crunch.
I believe in high cost barriers to entry, meaning only those that are serious about the industry will risk their money entering it.
