Richard Butler-Creagh has climbed many mountains in business and seems to employ a mindset that inspires him to reach new heights once he has summited pinnacles as he bids to see his ventures flourish.
But he will need to redouble his physical efforts when he saddles up for a challenge throttling his way through a mountain range on a motorbike with a group of like-minded adventurers dubbed the “dessert rats”.
For Butler Creagh, the founder of bridging finance company Henley Finance, is poised to undertake the seven-day MotoGP trip through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco on an intrepid trek in March with a team of bikers headed up by David Cooke, former England rugby union international and current chief executive of Red Kite Property Asset Management.
Butler Creagh says he hadn’t climbed on a bike for 25 years until last year, when he joined the group for a tour of the beaches of Normandy. Tackling a mountain range presents a whole new set of challenges, however.
“It’s certainly a challenge but one which I am really looking forward to,” he says. “It has the potential of being a gruelling test, but I am confident that, along with David and the dessert rats, we can rise to the occasion.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking that traversing the Atlas Mountains would occupy Butler Creagh’s thoughts entirely in the run-up to next month’s trip, but there is more exciting endurance on his horizon.
That’s because Henley Finance is sponsoring “three-quarters” of a car in a 24-hour race at Silverstone. The vehicle in question is to be driven by three racers, one of whom is Philip Harris, senior client advisor at Credit Suisse (UK).
The company have previously sponsored the Henley Regatta and racing car driver Olly Bryant, and the Beechdean Aston Martin team at the Le Mans 24.
Butler Creagh established Henley Finance in 2013 with the view to offer a unique way of offering short-term bridging finance specialising in loans between three months to a year, of between £100,000 to £1,000,000 for the professional property developer. He explained:
“The concept of the company was devised purely from responses to clients' needs, and the experiences of borrowing in the sector.
“The relationship with our client is the key to being able to understand their requirements and deliver our promises. Consistent communication is an element that is present throughout the life of the loan so Henley Finance relies on people who share its values in business, making the process transparent and understandable for everyone involved.
"A lot of developers come to us because it is cheaper than getting involved with a partner and they get the benefit of the experience of our team."