The Intermediary – August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 70
Meet The BDM
Simply
y Asset Finance
The Intermediary speaks with the James Robins,
national broker manager at Simply Asset Finance
How and why did you
become a BDM?
My journey into asset finance
began with a complete career
pivot. After completing a degree in
biomedical science at the University
of Manchester, I spent a few years
playing professional rugby full-time.
However, when uncertainty hit
during the pandemic – it was a real
moment of reflection for me, and just
like many others, I decided to pursue
a new career path.
My first role was working as a
funder in the payouts team. With it
being a new industry for me, it was
an excellent experience that proved
to be a great foundation to get
stuck in and learn from the ground
up. From there, I soon progressed
into an internal sales position, and
within two years, I transitioned into a
business development manager role.
Now at Simply Asset Finance, my
role has evolved significantly. I lead
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The Intermediary | August 2026
a team of six – a mix of field-based
BDMs and office-based broker
executives in Liverpool. I really enjoy
the contrast of managing my own
broker relationships and driving
deals, while guiding and supporting
a team. Stepping into this leadership
role has been a rewarding challenge
and I’m excited to keep building on
that momentum.
What drew you to Simply
Asset Finance?
I came across Simply when I was
at a point where I was looking to
progress my career and find a new
and exciting challenge. Simply
had a reputation for its innovative
approach to service and I wanted to
be a part of that.
Beyond that, Simply’s rapid
growth and its culture stood out.
Since joining, it’s clear that we do
things differently and I’ve recognised
there’s a real mentality of constantly
looking for better ways to support
our brokers, partners and customers.
Whether you’re in the boardroom,
office or in sales, everyone is pulling
in the same direction and focused on
finding the right solution.
On a personal level, it’s also been
a fantastic opportunity to step into
a management role, allowing me
to grow a team and help scale the
business alongside my own career.
What makes Simply
stand out?
Put simply, we call it ‘technology
with a handshake’. This is our
commitment to deliver a people-first
service, with on-the-ground lending
expertise backed up by marketleading technology.
Built from the ground up, our
technology helps remove friction
from the lending process, which
means we can spend less time
on admin and more time building
