Debt broker Adelaer finds niches and focuses on Fintech

Debt broker Adelaer finds niches and focuses on Fintech

"As a debt broker, we're always looking for new opportunities," says Arjan Brouwer, partner and senior advisor at Adelaer Financial Architects. "We seek out niches where we can make a difference. There's a lot of liquidity in the market. The trick is to capitalize on it." We spoke with this man, who started working for Adelaer from London in 2018 and has been based back in the Netherlands since 2021, to discuss where Adelaer sees opportunities and how it's capitalizing on them.
“We do a lot of business with smaller German public banks with large savings accounts.”

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With over fifteen years of experience arranging and structuring real estate financing in the Benelux, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia, Arjan Brouwer knows better than anyone where opportunities lie and how best to finance them. Adelaer also knows how to find niches when it comes to funding. Arjan Brouwer explains: “For example, we do a lot of business with smaller German public banks with large savings accounts. We see better terms and more space in the real estate financing market with these banks. Space that Dutch banks don't offer. These German banks not only offer lower interest rates but also better terms, such as longer terms and lower repayments. Moreover, German financiers have no problem refinancing equity (equity release), which provides room for further growth. We offer these banks access to the Dutch real estate market, which is very attractive to them.”

Equity partnerships

"The average loan for a homeowners' association (VvE) is €250.000, which is quite a different amount than what I was used to working with in London," Arjan says with a laugh. But the knowledge and London network are still valuable, for example, in the field of venture capital. Arjan Brouwer: "Adelaer has many hoteliers and developers as clients, and we regularly mediate in co-investments or joint ventures with an equity partner to realize further growth for these Dutch companies, or, as during the COVID period, to safeguard them."

Financing platform as an alternative to a real estate bank

Adelaer identifies problems in the real estate market and seeks suitable solutions. Digitizing the financing process is one of these. As a debt broker, Adelaer continually invests in this area. Arjan Brouwer: “For example, we acquired a platform that can be seen as a kind of Funda for real estate financing. Real estate investors find lenders, quickly and tailored to the needs of both parties. This allows Adelaer to do business with more than 1300 financiers throughout Europe. In the Benelux, Adelaer, as a debt broker, has secured exclusivity to use this tool. Following on from this, Adelaer has developed a Loan Management System. This combines the best of both worlds, and both the lender and borrower have access to all their data, 2/1, and have it up-to-date.” With the online financing platform and the Loan Management System, Adelaer is fully committed to the digitization of financial services. At Adelaer, they're convinced that fintech—all technology aimed at improving services within the financial world—is the future. "As a market player, we're leading the way," says Arjan Brouwer.

Symposium

Finally, we'll discuss the Adelaer Symposium, which is almost becoming a tradition. After successful editions in 2020 and 2021, the third online Adelaer Symposium will take place on Monday, November 7, 2022, focusing on sustainability in the real estate sector. With this, Adelaer aims to make a positive contribution to the discussion on this important topic. Last year's lineup was already impressive, and this year's is no less impressive. Hugo de Jonge, Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning; Maarten Feilzer, Managing Director of Zadelhoff; Léon Wijnands, Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management NL at ING; and Jack de Vries, Chairman of Vastgoed Belang, will be present and engage in discussion. This will be moderated by Sylvester Eijffinger, Emeritus Professor at Tilburg University and member of the Adelaer Advisory Board.