Mortgage broker, Lee Holland, was supposed to be retiring. However, when the phone kept ringing with clients asking for advice, he realised it wasn’t time to put his feet up just yet…and his next venture, TAG Financial, was born.

We catch up with him to find out why he’s particularly keen to help people working in the medical sector and why the Maidstone Innovation Centre is ideal for his business.

Tell us a bit about your background

I started a company in 2000 which I sold in 2012, fully intending on stopping work. But when clients I’d helped before continued to ask for my advice, I realised how much I Ioved helping people. I thought about my daughters and how I’d like them to be looked after when seeking professional advice – how important it is to be able to get help from someone you trust, and it just drew me back in. So I decided it wasn’t time to retire just yet and started up TAG Financial.

What services does Tag Financial offer?

We’re a team of five experienced advisors and three support staff, which includes two members of my family. We deal with residential mortgages, insurances and income protection and we have a special arm of the business that focuses on helping those who work in the medical field.

Tell us more about your work with the medical sector

It all started with my brother-in-law, who is a surgeon. After helping him to secure a mortgage, he recommended me to his colleagues who were also doctors, nurses and surgeons, and he became a good source of business.

My team have a lot of knowledge in that area. It’s not always easy to get a mortgage when you work in healthcare – the staff work long hours, lots of nurses do bank nursing, and the pay slips can be complicated. So it takes specialist knowledge to find a mortgage for people in that profession. We naturally found ourselves expanding in that area and so we went on to launch www.healthsectormortgages.co.uk which is specifically aimed at helping health sector workers looking to buy, sell, re-mortgage or let a property.

What do you like about being based at the Maidstone Innovation Centre?

Firstly, the building looks great and makes a brilliant first impression, we’re very proud to be here. It’s such a flexible building too. Clients don’t always want a formal, ‘interview-style’ meeting and the space here is perfect for that – it feels relaxing with lots of break-out areas. It is in a pleasant location on the Kent Medical campus and close to the M20 (and M&S!)

Everyone here is lovely, too. The MIC team has been so helpful – Marina and Sophie have been fantastic, showing us the ropes and making us welcome when we were the ‘new kids.’ And Sarah, the manager, provides excellent support and assistance.

I’d definitely recommend Maidstone Innovation Centre to other businesses. It’s really tricky to find decent, affordable, flexible space that you’re proud to work in. Here, you can start off small, maybe use one of the hot desks, then when you’re ready to expand you can move to a unit without any complications.

What are your plans for the future?

We’re focused on continuing to carve out a niche in the medical sector. It’s really frustrating to see medical professionals struggling to get the right advice. So many assume they can’t get a mortgage. One of the things we’re planning on doing is using the conference room in the MIC to host relaxed drop-in sessions where people in the field – perhaps from neighbouring KIMS, as well as our fellow tenants – can come and grab a coffee, and ask questions in an informal, no-pressure environment.

Above all, we want to continue to be known for offering a trusted service – we’ve never been focused on the ‘sell, sell, sell,’ for us, it’s always been about ‘help, help, help!’

https://www.tagfinancial.co.uk/

Maidstone Innovation Centre is part funded by the European Union Regional Development Fund 2014 – 2020.