rival brokers to scoop lucrative deal with barristers
Syscap has fought off tough competition to win a multi million
deal providing services for members of the Bar Council of England
and Wales.
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The win means the broker will provide services to The Bar
Services company Limited (BarCo) – the body which tendered the deal
– which in turn will advance them to barristers.
It follows Siemens Financial Services’ strategic decision to
pull out of the paper profession’s market in June this year,
subsequently terminating its relationship with BarCo. Siemens had
been BarCo’s finance partner since 2000. As Siemens were the last
direct funder in the market place, it left BarCo with no option but
to go to finance brokers for services instead.
Syscap took part in a stringent selection process using quality
criteria set by the BarCo board, beating competing brokers,
including Exclusive Benefits and Practice Loans Company, to win the
deal.
Syscap has been providing flexible finance solutions to the
legal profession for 17 years, including barristers, solicitors, as
well as architects, dentists, accountants and surveyors.
Mark Gibbs, a director and shareholder of Syscap Ltd who is also
responsible for the Syscap’s professions business, said: “We deal
with a variety of vendors and suppliers in the market place. Most
of the key vendors actually work with us. Also we have direct
client relationships which we have built up over the years, so we
deal with thousands of legal clients.”
Julie Monkmon, general manager of BarCo, said: “Whilst there
were other brokers in the running, Syscap was miles ahead of the
others.”
BarCo, in choosing a new business partner, considered whether
the company was sound financially, and whether it had a good
credibility within its own industry. “However, the overriding
principles are how relevant and appropriate the products and
services are to the audience [the barristers],” Monkmon said.
“Barristers are unique in terms of the way they are paid,
particularly criminal barristers who sometimes have to wait for
legal aid payment. So, for example, the aged debt funding provided
by Syscap helps to keep the cash flow going.”
Along with aged-debt funding, which is specifically aimed at
barristers, Syscap now offers members of the Bar Council specialist
vehicle financing, chambers financing including for IT equipment,
office equipment and machinery, as well as for products that can
help chambers fund refurbishments and relocations. All loan
facilities are unsecured and offered at a flexible rate, ranging
from 12 months to seven years.
The deal is part of Syscap’s plans to build up its professionals
financing business, and is currently working on similar programmes
to the BarCo one. Gibbs said: “This is a significant strategic win
for us, and also a platform for us to move across the other
professions. For us, this is an exciting opportunity. We are
looking forward to working with BarCo, and we hope it will be the
start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”
