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Date: 10 November 2022

Author: Rachel Bartlett

An intern with career ambitions in property or finance has praised MSP Capital for extending his summer work experience into a longer-term paid opportunity.

Harry Frost was only meant to spend four weeks with us but then agreed a four-month internship with hopes of a more permanent position becoming possible in the future.

The internship structure we built around Harry’s experience has proved mutually beneficial and we are looking to progress it and attract more interns in years to come pending capacity.

Harry, 20, approached us after he had worked at a recruitment company and while studying business management at the Open University.

An ex-sixth former of Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne, Harry said: “I had known about MSP Capital being a development finance company for a few years and was thrilled to get the chance to work with them.

“I wasn’t too sure what to expect and I was surprised at how big the company is. In my first few days it was quite relaxed and there was lots of induction. I met the team and talked about what each department does. I spent time in operations, finance, underwriting, valuation and marketing, learning about the whole loan process.

 

Part of Team MSP

 

“They treated me as a member of the team right from the start and made me feel included and at home. Everyone is entrepreneurial, works hard and they gave me a range of ad hoc tasks and mini-projects to work on. While I was expected to be hands-on and manage my workload to some extent, I felt completely supported.

Everyone was approachable and happy to take the time to work closely with me. I wasn’t micro-managed. It was a great balance between having the chance to work independently and be a team member.”

While working on multiple projects from different departments, Harry was especially keen to praise the input of his line manager on the internship, Finance Analyst Duncan Ovens.

And reflecting on his learnings, Harry said: “My spreadsheet skills have definitely improved, I’ve done analysis work on overheads and fee income, and I didn’t know anything about the compliance side which is a major part of their work. I have really taken to it and learned a lot about the business.

Harry said he enjoyed the wider culture and social life at MSP Capital too. He won our monthly wellbeing award, designed to promote health and fitness, for three reasons: his dedication in the in-house gym; playing with colleagues in our beach volleyball tournament in aid of charity; and cycling to work each morning. On a ‘car free’ day, he even paddle boarded across Poole Bay and walked into the office from Poole Quay.

Harry is due to complete his internship in November before travelling in South East Asia.

“Definitely take part in what’s going on as much as you can That’s the best way to get something out of it and get experience under your belt.”

 

“I’ve spoken to MSP about potentially coming back,” he said. “They have a great culture and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who made me feel so welcome. My advice to others is that I found this internship really enjoyable.

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This internship was a great opportunity for Harry to get an understanding of all our departments and reflect on where he wants to focus his career. Both we and Harry have benefited from and enjoyed the internship. It is great to have someone so dedicated and focused on their career and personal progression. That’s the kind of energy and focus that MSP Capital loves. We now have a successful internship structure set up and we look forward to progressing this and bringing new interns into the business in the future.

Becky Harris, Finance Director at MSP Capital

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