MKB Law has one of the strongest client lists of any Belfast law firm, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It’s taken years of hard work by the firm’s team, combined with the reputation within the local business community of lawyers like MKB Managing Director Gordon McElroy and his colleague Maria Conway.

But MKB took a major step forward during the summer when it added experienced lawyer Neil Logan to its team to head up the Banking & Finance function. Neil moved across town to join MKB  after 17 years rising to partner with another local law firm.

“MKB has always been strong on banking and finance, mostly due to Gordon and Maria and their work in the corporate field and in specialist areas like hospitality and real estate,” says Neil. “I suppose I bring a specialist focus on banking and finance.

“A lot of my experience up to now has been acting on the lender side (ie for banks and alternative sources of finance), but my role with MKB will involve me a lot more of the borrower side, working with business clients on their financing requirements.

“Alternative lenders, particularly those based in GB, are taking an increasing share of the Northern Ireland finance marketplace, particularly when it comes to commercial real estate funding. It’s a good market for them, and it works for borrowers too, in that alternative lenders will look at deals that the pillar banks may not consider.”

Business borrowers, says Neil, continue to grow more savvy and knowledgeable when it comes to finance sources and structuring deals. Increasingly, that means dealing with specialist banking and finance providers.

“We’re fortunate as a firm to have a very strong, prestigious client base on the borrower side and these are people, especially in areas like hospitality, who know what they’re looking for and know how to negotiate the right kind of deal. There are some fantastic transactions going on in the hospitality sector at the moment.”

Despite the emergence of more alternative lenders, Neil Logan reckons that there aren’t enough finance offerings in the marketplace at the moment. More is needed to fuel growth and investment opportunities, he says.

“This is a great place to do business at the moment,” he adds. “But it’s vital that the sources of finance are in place and that they’re active. Speed of delivery is another problem that I’d mention. The urgency that is required isn’t always there.”

Lawyers, he says, aren’t just there to rubber stamp their clients’ business deals. “We’re always here to provide early advice and to become part of the team working on any deal,” says Neil. “To that end, we’ll always advice any client to engage with us right at the outset of any potential deal. Come to us when you’re structuring the deal. Don’t leave the legal side too late or you can get into a world of problems.”

While alternative lending sources are on the up here in Northern Ireland, Neil Logan says that the so-called pillar banks – the big names in banking here – aren’t as active on the lending front as they should be. Or often as they claim to be.

“We definitely need to see more energy, more proactivity from the pillar banks, especially in certain sectors of the wider marketplace. It’s a sector specific problem but there’s no doubt that some sectors are more challenging for lenders than others. M&A projects, for example, require a more sophisticated level of lending. Lenders have to understand what kind of deal borrowers are striving for.

“But, on the whole, I think we have seen and are seeing a real increase in the sophistication of finance deals across the Northern Ireland market.

“Venture capitalists are even beating a path to our door these days. When could we ever have said that back in the past?”