This week on the Development Ready podcast, we have Finance Expert and Partner at Varna Capital, Simon Howlett.
We speak to Simon about his journey into the finance industry and discuss topics such as:
 How to evaluate and assess risk in a development project
 Why establishing strong relationships with lending partners is so important
 How great teams make great projects
 What really matters to a lender when assessing an opportunity, plus much more.
Remember as always to like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see who we have on next week’s episode.
Show notes
01:33 - Introduction
02:20 - Background, who he is and who Varna Capital is
03:41 - How deals are made and referral partners
06:50 - Length of process
08:01 - Lender’s expectations and processes
09:37 - Deals involving multiple referrers
11:49 - Current state of the market and lending from banks
15:48 - Banks criteria and what Varna’s future looks like
19:25 - Private lenders and establishing new work relationships
22:15 - De-risking projects and a look at a high-risk example
27:50 - % of equity included in deals
29:16 - Projects that are sold into the local market
30:21 - How hard the current market is for new developers
33:26 - The importance of the team
37:24 - What makes a strong team
40:31 - His role and where he adds the most value
44:45 - The perfect deal
47:20 - What’s in short supply?
50:18 - Varna’s current outlook
51:12 - Best piece of advice
