Kensington Finance LP’s founder and CEO, Neil Dowsett, has been providing non-bank lending services in New Zealand for over thirty-four years.

​

In 1991, Neil was a Partner at the well-respected Auckland law-firm Skeates Simpson Dowsett, when a client he acted for expressed frustration that he was not able to secure a loan from his bank over a property he had recently purchased. Neil asked the firm’s other partners if they had any clients who wished to invest their money in a first mortgage and then arranged a contributory first mortgage in the clients’ names.

​

The firm began offering their services to other clients who found themselves in similar situations. The service was a win-win for borrowers and investors, providing both with new financial opportunities. 

​

As increasing numbers of clients wanted this service, the firm established a Solicitor’s Nominee Company, Skeates Simpson Dowsett Solicitors Nominee Company Ltd, which was incorporated in January 1999. The business was renamed SDM Lawyers Nominee Company Ltd in July 2015.

​

By June 2016, with an increasing number of borrowers and investors on the books, Neil’s business had outgrown its origins as an ancillary business of the law firm and he established Kensington Finance Limited Partnership.

​

Over 34 years, Neil’s ethos has remained the same: providing strong investments backed with property-related mortgages. The sum of the total of mortgages since 2016 has grown by over 400% - entirely by word-of-mouth and recommendations from existing investors and borrowers. Neil has built long-lasting relationships with investors, some of whom have been with him for decades.

​

Although he has stepped back from law to focus on finance, Neil still works at SDM Law Ltd (the modern iteration of Skeates Simpson Dowsett) as a consultant. The firm continues to provide its legal services to Kensington Finance.