Leadership in finance has changed. Titles matter less than trust. Process matters less than people. And the leaders who are actually performing are the ones who understand that managing numbers is easy compared to managing humans.

In this special NRG Insights compilation, Marcus brings together four conversations with leaders operating at the sharp end of specialist finance. Each guest shares practical insight into how they lead teams, handle pressure, and build cultures that hold up when the market gets tough.

This episode focuses on what leadership really looks like day to day. Not theory. Not buzzwords. Just the decisions, behaviours, and mindset shifts that separate effective leaders from everyone else.

Featured conversations include:

• Jonathan Sealey on why culture comes before strategy, and how autonomy drives performance
• Jamie Pritchard on management as a responsibility, not a reward
• Paula Mercer on emotional intelligence, values, and leading with intent
• Andy Alvarez on trust, motivation, and the human side of sales leadership

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why strong leaders focus on alignment, not control
• How trust is built inside teams, not announced in meetings
• What modern employees actually expect from leadership
• Why emotional intelligence now matters as much as experience
• How the best leaders adapt without losing clarity or standards

Whether you’re leading a team, managing senior people, or stepping into leadership for the first time, this episode gives a grounded look at how leadership really works inside financial services today.

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

Marcus sits down with Andrew Robinson, Founder of Arc & Co, to talk about how broking has changed, and why brokers who don’t adapt get left behind.

Andrew started Arc & Co in 2007, grew it through some of the toughest market conditions in recent memory, and recently sold the business to FRP Advisory. His journey shows what it really takes to build and scale a brokerage when the market keeps moving the goalposts.

If you’re in broking, lending, or thinking about growing a business in financial services, this episode will help you understand what actually matters.

What You’ll Learn

How broking has changed...and what’s coming next
Why resilience matters more than timing or luck
The decisions that helped Arc & Co grow when others stalled
What Andrew looks for when hiring and developing talent
Why the FRP deal wasn’t planned — but made sense

Andrew Robinson is the founder of Arc & Co, a specialist finance brokerage working across residential, commercial, marine and aviation finance.

He built the business from scratch, grew it through multiple market cycles, and recently led its acquisition by FRP Advisory to support its next stage of growth.

Subscribe to NRG Insights for weekly conversations with leaders in specialist finance, mortgages, and property lending.

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

For more visit: www.nrg-resourcing.co.uk

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

In this special compilation episode of NRG Insights, we explore the one thing that sits behind every successful lender, broker, and leader in financial services, people.

Featuring moments from conversations with Chris Britto & Joe Eden (Bridgemore Capital), Charlie Gregory (Glenhawk), Sonia Mann (Roma Finance), and Grant Hendry (OSB Group), this episode dives into the realities of communication, culture, trust, and what it actually takes to build long-term success in this industry.

If you’ve ever wondered why some businesses scale and others stall, or why certain leaders inspire loyalty while others lose good people, this is the episode that joins the dots.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why communication is the real competitive advantage in lending and broking
• How business partnerships stay strong when pressure hits
• Why authenticity builds trust faster than a script ever will
• The difference between managing people and leading them
• How ego, personalities, and values shape team success
• Why culture isn’t a poster on the wall, it’s every conversation

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

This week on NRG Insights, Marcus sits down with Danny Kiely, the new Head of Sales at Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB).

Danny didn’t follow the usual route. No degree. No big break. He started in 2014 delivering post at Shawbrook Bank and worked his way through operations, underwriting, BDM roles and into leadership. Step by step. One job at a time.

This episode is a proper look at what progression in financial services actually looks like when you build it from the ground up — the learning curve, the setbacks, the mentors, and the moments that push you forward.

If you're early in your career, developing a team, or looking at that next step yourself, you’ll take plenty from this one.

In this episode:

• How Danny moved from admin work to senior roles
• The skills that helped him at each stage
• Why taking your time early on pays off later
• The role of ambition, visibility and consistency
• Dealing with imposter syndrome as you move up
• How mentors shaped his approach to leadership
• What he’s focusing on now as HTB’s Head of Sales

About Danny Kiely

Danny is Head of Sales at Hampshire Trust Bank, with almost a decade across specialist lending. He started his career in entry-level operations at Shawbrook before moving into underwriting and BDM roles at MT Finance and HTB. His progression into leadership has been built on learning every part of the process and proving himself at each stage.

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

In this episode of NRG Insights, Marcus is joined by Chris Gardner, CEO and Co-Founder of Atelier, to unpack what it really takes for a lending business to stay ahead.

Chris has built one of the UK’s most innovative specialist lenders, and in this conversation, he breaks down the patterns he’s seen across multiple financial cycles, the opportunities most lenders overlook, and what developers and brokers should understand about today’s environment.

Whether you’re in lending, broking, development, or leading a business through uncertainty, this episode gives you practical insight from someone who’s built, scaled, and rebuilt multiple times over.

• How Chris went from car finance innovator to mortgage broker to specialist lender

• Why the best lenders focus on behaviour, not just assets

• What’s changed in development & bridging finance — and what hasn’t

• Why COVID accelerated Atelier’s growth

• How to survive inflation, rising build costs & shifting economic cycles

• The real role of government policy in the housing market

• What developers should understand before taking on their next deal

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

In this episode of NRG Insights, Marcus sits down with Joe Eden and Chris Britto, Co-Founders of Bridgemore Capital, to talk about what makes business partnerships work in finance and beyond.

With backgrounds spanning mortgages, property investment, and specialist lending, Joe and Chris have built a brokerage that’s defined by communication, trust, and mutual respect.

In this episode...

• How to build a partnership based on complementary strengths
• Why clear communication beats hierarchy every time
• The importance of educating clients, not just selling to them
• How values like respect and transparency shape long-term success
• The lessons Joe and Chris have learned building Bridgemore Capital

If you’re running a brokerage, working in specialist finance, or thinking about starting something of your own, this conversation is a masterclass in what it takes to build something that lasts.

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

In this episode of NRG Insights, Marcus sits down with Ashley Ilsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Magnet Capital, to unpack what developers, brokers, and even lenders often get wrong about development finance.

Ashley shares how Magnet Capital carved out a strong position in a crowded field of over 240 short-term lenders by focusing on relationships, service, and real understanding of developers’ needs, not just speed and pricing.

Whether you’re a broker, developer, or lender, this conversation is packed with lessons on standing out, surviving tough markets, and building trust in a sector where reputation matters most.

In this episode

The biggest misconceptions about development finance
How to stand out in a saturated lending market
Lessons from launching Magnet Capital and leading through uncertainty
Why “fast and flexible” isn’t enough anymore
How culture and recruitment shape long-term success
The future of tech and collaboration in development finance

About Ashley Ilsen

Ashley Ilsen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Magnet Capital, a specialist lender providing development finance for new-build residential projects. Since launching in 2018, Magnet Capital has become known for its straightforward lending approach and relationship-driven service, supporting developers across the UK through changing market conditions.

Subscribe to NRG Insights for weekly conversations with leaders in specialist finance, mortgages, and property lending.

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.

In this episode of NRG Insights, Marcus is joined by Gregory Tarn, Managing Director at Avamore Capital, for a candid look behind the scenes of today’s specialist lending market.

From investment banking in Switzerland and London, to heading a small, agile team in mezzanine and second-charge lending, Gregory shares what it really takes to build, lead and adapt in a lending business that’s built for today, not yesterday.

What You’ll Learn

How moving from large-corporates into small teams gave Gregory a full view of how a lending business works, end-to-end

Why agility, tech investment and relationships now go hand-in-hand in specialist lending

The market shifts from mezzanine to first-charge lending and how strategy must evolve accordingly

Why leadership in smaller finance firms means wearing many hats — and why that’s an advantage

What defines a modern lender in 2025: culture, tech-savvy operations and trusted broker partnerships

If you like this episode, don’t forget to share and tag NRG in your post and let us know what you liked so we can record more fantastic content for you.