The bank revealed that the portal, called Acumen, has undergone broker testing and says it is the first fully automated commercial mortgage enquiry system to be available in the UK.
Acumen should enable Aldermore’s panel brokers to submit a commercial mortgage enquiry, upload supporting documentation and obtain a decisioned heads of terms which they can print and give to their clients immediately.
Rob Lankey, managing director of Aldermore commercial mortgages, said: “For the first time, a commercial mortgage enquiry can be submitted online and a heads of terms produced immediately without needing human intervention.
“When a broker submits an enquiry online, Acumen automatically initiates a credit search, checks the applicant’s ID and runs age, serviceability and industry sector checks.
“Assuming everything is in order, it then prices the loan and produces a heads of terms document. This is not a worthless illustration; it will enable applicants to proceed with confidence to the full application stage.
“Acumen is ideally suited to processing straightforward day-to-day commercial mortgage enquiries.”
Lankey conceded that commercial mortgages cases could be very complex and may not be suitable for submissions online. However, he said: “In these instances, applications can be submitted in the same way they are today and they will be overseen by an experienced lending manager who will take responsibility for their progress through to completion.
“On straightforward deals, Acumen empowers brokers to obtain their own decisioned heads of terms, 24/7, without requiring the immediate involvement of an Aldermore lending manager, if it’s not necessary.”
Doug Hall, director of 3mc who has been helping test Acumen, said: “Acumen is not an evolution, it’s a revolution in the commercial mortgage market. Until now the perceived wisdom has been that it’s impossible to develop an online system which provides genuine decisions, because of the complexity of commercial mortgage deals.
“Aldermore has just turned conventional thinking on its head.
“The appeal of Acumen is that it fast-tracks straightforward loan applications, letting brokers and their clients know immediately if it’s worth progressing with a deal, without needing to wait for an answer.
“I certainly found the system easy to use and it was good to know that I’d still have direct access to lending managers if I needed to check criteria or talk about specific aspects of a deal. I have no doubt Acumen will be a great success.”
In order to access Acumen, intermediaries must be part of Aldermore’s approved commercial mortgage broker panel. Aldermore will contact all approved brokers and provide them with further information about Acumen in the near future.
