The topic of gender diversity and inclusion continues to be widely discussed across various industries and despite progress in recent years, women remain underrepresented in many areas of finance. We here at Avamore Capital actively support the bid for equality within the specialist finance sector, and one of the ways we demonstrate this is by celebrating International Women’s Day and in particular the women of Avamore. Take a read below to learn more about a few of them and what the future of gender equality looks like to them…
What is your professional background?
I started working in Underwriting in 2014, originally dealing with second charge mortgages. After a few years, I stepped into bridging underwriting and after doing this for almost 4 years, I decided I wanted a new challenge and joined Avamore.
What challenges (if any) did you face in previous roles?
I feel that I have been very fortunate so far and not faced too many challenges in my previous positions. Although every role comes with its different challenges, I think it comes down to the way that you decide to approach these and your attitude towards them.
I believe that my attitude towards any challenges that do arise has changed over time though. In the past, I used to worry more when faced with a problem. I’ve realised though that most challenges can be overcome with the right attitude and way of dealing with them.
What are your key achievements at Avamore to date?
I have been with Avamore for 12 months now and understand so much more about development finance than I did when I first started! My key achievement would be the way that I have taken to the role.
What is your professional background?
I studied Law and Criminology at University before going on to work as a paralegal in Civil Litigation. From there, I worked as an Executive Assistant at a law firm in Sydney, Australia. Upon returning to England and moving to London, I secured my role as Executive Assistant at Avamore Capital.
What challenges (if any) did you face in previous roles?
The law firm I was working at in Sydney was a male dominated company, especially within leadership positions. There were misogynistic tendencies that would become apparent within the workplace from men in senior positions that the company failed to call out.
Has it improved for you as time has gone on?
In general, there has been improvement for women over the years but I do think we still have a long way to go; seeing more female representation is positions of influence for example.
What are your key achievements at Avamore to date?
I am fairly new to my role at Avamore Capital so I’m yet to have any monumental achievements, but I have been able to get stuck into key projects within the company from the day 1. I have been involved with the Training & Development projects alongside the company’s recruitment processes.
What is your professional background?
After completing a BA(Hons) in Film and Television Production, I found my true calling for marketing in 2016 during my time at a wealth management business in the Midlands. After seven years studying alongside working full time, I took the plunge and moved to London to join Avamore Capital as Marketing Manager.
What challenges (if any) did you face in previous roles?
I think that any role you have in any industry you’re going to come across a varying nature of challenges. Having worked in finance for the past 8 years, I have experienced some, definitely. Hardships specifically regarding being a female in a predominantly male workplace have been rare, but nonetheless have still happened.
Has it improved for you as time has gone on?
Absolutely, but only more recently. I realised towards the end of 2021 that it wasn’t an environment I wanted to be in day to day, and so actively searched for a position that would allow me to grow. Coming into Avamore Capital, it was almost refreshing to be in a business that supports my career advancement, regardless of my gender.
What are your key achievements at Avamore to date?
My ethos has always been that rather than highlighting key achievements over time, it’s just as important to acknowledge the little steps taken each day to get to your goals. The impact that these make can be significant and so when I think back to my first day at Avamore and my first day working in development finance just under a year ago, the difference in my knowledge and myself, is an accomplishment in itself.
What is your professional background?
I began my career at RBS/Natwest where I stayed for two and a half years, starting in a relationship management apprenticeship role corporate banking before securing the position of full time Assistant Relationship Manager in the same area. I then held the same position within the commercial banking team. With my whole family being in property I then moved to Cynergy Bank, formerly Bank of Cyprus where I was an Associate in the Development and Buy to Let areas. I did this for two and a half years before joining the Avamore team.
What challenges (if any) did you face in previous roles?
To be honest I‘ve been lucky to not really face any challenges in previous roles, especially at Natwest/RBS. I was actually part of RBS Women which was a progressive sector of the business. Both the corporate and commercial team had female Relationship Managers and Directors. As the CEO of NatWest is female, I believe that this has come from the top and is an example of how female leadership can influence the inclusive nature of the business.
Has it improved for you as time has gone on?
Absolutely, from what is renowned for being a male dominated industry, I am seeing more and more examples of women being promoted into higher level roles both in the wider industry and in Avamore in particular.
What are your key achievements at Avamore to date?
After being at Avamore as an Internal Relationship Manager for a year and a half, my promotion to Relationship Manager covering London has been a major achievement for me.
What is your professional background?
I joined Avamore in 2018 as Marketing Coordinator, having worked for them via an agency in the years before. Overtime my role has evolved to be more focused on business operations.
What challenges (if any) did you face in previous roles?
I’ve been at Avamore for the majority of my career; if I look back at my challenges, most have been around finding the right opportunities for growth and knowing when to act on them.
I am fortunate that the leadership at Avamore has always been meritocratic; age, experience and gender has never mattered, as long as you show up with the right attitude, you’ll get rewarded in the way you deserve.
This is the thing that I have always loved about being part of a small business. You’re very much in control of your own path and – in my experience at least – how you apply yourself matters so much more than who you are on the surface.
Has it improved for you as time has gone on?
When I joined Avamore, we were a very small business with a near 50/50 gender split and so, I have always had the mindset that we are business that believes in balance, but also hiring the right people for the role.
Whilst we haven’t been able to maintain this same distribution as we’ve grown, we’ve always applied the same ethos that we pick people with aligned values. In doing so, we’ve hired a non-discriminatory workforce and are actively looking for creative ways to diversify our recruitment strategy.
As a woman holding a senior position within Avamore have there been any challenges for you?
I joined Avamore when it was just 7 people and have been the longest standing employee. The opportunity to grow alongside a business was huge for me and having always been very personally invested in the success of the company I am proud to be part of the management team today. I’m fortunate that in growing my role organically, I have never felt that I needed to prove myself as a leader, just because I am a woman. For me, stepping up into leadership has always been about doing more, thinking bigger and being aware of the responsibility you have to support and guide others across the company. Gender aside, when I look at my peers, we all have that same attitude and respect for one another; for me that’s the most important thing; in maintaining this core ethos, we’ll naturally achieve a more balanced environment.
What are your key achievements at Avamore to date?
Since joining, Avamore has grown from a £50M lender to a £500M+ lender and I feel incredibly proud to have played a part in that! Outside of this, I have enjoyed growing my profile in the industry and was particularly pleased to have been appointed to the Board for the Association of Short Term lenders!
Avamore Capital is a provider of unregulated loans to corporate entities and private individuals. All loans to private individuals comply with the exemptions set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001.
