Note from Norman Chambers

Norman Chambers Managing Director |NACFB

What will the UK look like in 2030? We have lived through decades of upheaval in the last five years alone, and at this relentless pace, few things will be certain. Perhaps we will have just come through yet another ‘once in a generation’ global crisis. Humanity may by then have made vast medical advances or slowed global warming. Tottenham Hotspur may even have lifted silverware – the future really is that uncertain.

I do feel confident in making a few predictions though. UK entrepreneurs will still be finding their way. Small businesses will continue to bloom, new talent and new ideas will persist and flourish, and new opportunities will present themselves. If I had a penny for every time someone has said technology will replace the broker within the decade, I wouldn’t be sat here writing this. But I can also confidently predict that by 2030, the need for a personal trusted advisor may even be greater than it is today.

For now, at least, 2030 remains a long way away. As for today, we are slowly exiting our latest crisis, one that has claimed its fair share of casualties. We thought it best to use this issue of Commercial Broker as a form of time capsule to collate and share the insights, experiences, and lessons from our proud community. Within this issue you’ll find 50 unique perceptions of how life under lockdown has been for commercial finance professionals. The lessons range from the professional – and ways of adapting - to the more personal achievements and, at times, the struggles.

Reading through the shared insights has though filled me with optimism. A lot has been thrown at us all, and more may yet come, but I mean it quite sincerely when I say that we will ride this wave together. Together we shall embrace our position as trusted advisors. Together we shall continue to operate as part of the largest community of finance intermediaries. And together, we shall remain bound by a common duty, that of Moving Britain Forward.