Specialist property finance trade body, FIBA and Mortgage Business Expo (MBE) have announced a partnership which will mean that the FIBA Annual Conference will, in future, be held as part of MBE North at Manchester Central, the new northern venue for MBE.

The first event takes place on March 22nd 2022.

Mike Mikunda (pictured), director of MBE, said: “As MBE expands its activity for 2022, it was a logical move to come back to a venue as prestigious and iconic as Manchester Central as the location for our Northern Expo. We are also delighted to welcome the FIBA Annual Conference.

“Its presence along with a select number of its lender partners and service providers will help to build in an added focus on the specialist finance sector. This complements our goal to make MBE the best venue for brokers who want to experience the vibrancy in the market and engage with the widest range of exhibitors representing the major lending channels of the UK lending industry.”

FIBA chairman, Adam Tyler, added: “FIBA is returning to a real Annual Conference for 2022. It is an ideal opportunity to bring together our membership that doubled in 2020 and grew again by another 50% in 2021. Manchester Central was the traditional northern home of the MBE and has great transport links from all of the UK’s premier cities, which will make it easy for more of our members to attend.

“The focus of the FIBA conference will be on the specialist property finance industry and the increasingly important role that FIBA plays on behalf of members in the sector. We will be concentrating though a series of discussions on discussing education, industry practices and at the same time providing a great networking opportunity for all of those involved in bridging, development finance, buy-to-let and commercial mortgage lending.

“This is a great time of the year to provide a real positive message and all of us at FIBA are looking forward to welcoming you to MBE Manchester on 22nd March.”