Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition marks its 20th anniversary in 2021. The world has drastically changed over the past two decades in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the arrival of now-ubiquitous smartphones and social media channels, the Great Recession and the current downturn fueled by the worst pandemic in a century.;
Twenty years ago, Scotsman Guide acquired the Commercial Lender Magazine in an effort to better serve the nation’s business-purpose mortgage lenders and brokers. Scotsman Guide Residential Edition was launched seven years before that, quickly growing into one of the most widely circulated and trusted publications of its kind.;
Reaching the 20-year milestone wouldn’t be possible without the broad support of subscribers and advertisers, who deserve our deepest thanks. Just as we’ve done from the beginning, we continue to strive to give our readers a competitive edge in their business by offering advanced data, analysis, educational articles and a one-stop shop of lender connections to fund any deal. In recent years, the print magazine has been supplemented by an increasing focus on the digital realm, including a revamped website and improvements to our proprietary tech tools.;
Things have changed quite a bit since our humble beginnings. When the company’s first edition of the Scotsman Brokered Loan Reference Guide left the presses in 1994, it was 16 pages long and was mailed to about 1,460 subscribers. The inaugural edition included less than 50 residential wholesale lenders.
Today, Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition reaches about 26,000 monthly subscribers; has more than 120 lender listings across the commercial, multifamily, hard money and construction spectrum; and is regularly 100-plus pages in length. Whether you’re in search of financing for an apartment complex, office building or hotel — or even something obscure like a goat farm or wind farm — we aim to be the go-to resource in your quest to make a borrower’s vision come to life.;
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the commercial magazine, it’s important to highlight some of the key moments for the publication over the past two decades. Turn the page and you’ll find a timeline of these events. Even as the world endures tumultuous times, Scotsman Guide’s journey continues. We ask for your continued support as the next 20 years are sure to bring as many adventures and accomplishments as the past 20.;
— Neil Pierson, Editor in Chief
For more than six years, I have been a mortgage originator for investors and I’ve relied on Scotsman Guide to help me find the right lenders for each deal. The print and online magazines have helped me stay well-informed about the market and important trends for over a decade.
— Jerry Straks, Dorel Capital LLC
Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition Timeline
1985: Geary Britton-Simmons acquires Scotsman Publishing Inc., publisher of the Western Washington Bulletin, a weekly publication of directory listings and mortgage rates. Britton-Simmons also later launches a daily wholesale mortgage-pricing sheet that is faxed to subscribers. His oldest son, Kevin, was the company’s first employee. Today, Kevin serves as CEO of Scotsman Guide Inc. and his younger brother, Todd, is the company’s executive director of marketing.
1994: In December, a new publication is launched that replaces the daily pricing sheet. It features underwriting guidelines from wholesale mortgage companies, which today are called “Lender Listings” and cover nearly a dozen categories — ranging from hard money and construction to prime first mortgages and correspondent lending. The initial 16-page, two-color newsprint publication was called the Scotsman Brokered Loan Reference Guide and marked the first issue of what is now Scotsman Guide Residential Edition.
I love Scotsman Guide and have used it for almost 20 years to find investors and to stay on top of what’s happening in the mortgage industry. Loan Post is an outstanding way to find lenders, and any loan originator not using Scotsman Guide is surely missing out.
— Joshua Reed, Agape Financial Group LLC
2000: The West Coast and East Coast editions of the Scotsman Guide magazine are consolidated into one national edition.
2001: The Commercial Lender Magazine is purchased in April by Scotsman Guide. The acquired publication is focused on the commercial side of the mortgage industry. It was initially included as part of the monthly Residential Edition publication, but by December 2001, the Commercial Edition began to be published as separate, standalone monthly magazine.
2007: The Commercial Loan Post tool is unveiled by Scotsman Guide in January as a revolutionary new way to help commercial mortgage brokers fund deals faster using the company’s online platform. 2008: Revenues plummet at Scotsman Guide, as was the case with many publishing companies during the onset of the Great Recession. The Britton-Simmons brothers had to cut costs and employees to ensure the company’s survival. When the economy began to rebound, Scotsman Guide was well-positioned to bounce back, and soon began recording a steady upswing in sales, circulation and new hires.
2008: Revenues plummet at Scotsman Guide, as was the case with many publishing companies during the onset of the Great Recession. The Britton-Simmons brothers had to cut costs and employees to ensure the company’s survival. When the economy began to rebound, Scotsman Guide was well positioned to bounce back, and soon began recording a steady upswing in sales, circulation and new hires.
2012: Done Deals, a new section of the Commercial Edition, is first published in the July issue to give commercial mortgage lenders the ability to showcase their closed deals. In December of that year, the first Proven Direct Lender designations were launched. These companies are audited by Scotsman Guide to confirm their direct-lending capabilities.
2014: Scotsman Guide online news is launched, featuring in-depth news reporting and coverage of the mortgage market that is published daily on the website and distributed to subscribers through a weekly e-newsletter. Major stories also are summarized in the monthly print magazine.
2015: The Western Publishing Association selects Scotsman Guide as a finalist in numerous categories for its annual Maggie Awards. The Commercial Edition is honored as one of the best tabloid/trade magazines, as well as for its editorial illustrations and regularly featured department articles.
Scotsman Guide is well-read by all of the originators in our office. We use it to find the right lenders for our commercial mortgage originations as well as to know about all of the lenders and partners highlighted in the magazine. It has helped a lot over the years.
— Randy Naft, Mansfield Equities Inc.
2019: Scotsman Guide launches its new website, a completely redesigned financial-technology platform tailored to help commercial mortgage brokers find lenders and grow their business networks through the Lender Search and Loan Post tools.
2020: The first Market Insights content pages – data-driven market information compiled from Scotsman Guide’s high-frequency website analytics – are published in April. By August, as market stress from the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened, the online Commercial Lender Search tops 9,500 queries in a single month. Through the first 11 months of the year, commercial mortgage brokers produce more than 72,000 lender searches and more than 13,000 connections with lenders.
2021: Today, Scotsman Guide Commercial Edition continues to be a leading resource for mortgage professionals nationwide — with some 35 employees dedicated to producing the magazine each month. It has a national circulation of 26,000 readers, along with a robust online presence that features interactive lender search and loan post services, a deep editorial archive and fresh digital versions of our magazines. Over the past 20 years, some 240 issues of the monthly print magazine have been published. And in an age of increasing media consolidation, the magazine’s parent company, Scotsman Guide Inc., remains a family-owned business.
Into the future: In the years ahead, Scotsman Guide will continue to evolve as it develops and launches new and improved print and data products, as well as world-class online tools that take advantage of today’s evolving digital media environment and online technology. This will help commercial mortgage brokers expand their lending networks, close more deals and grow their businesses. Stay tuned.
From the CEO
This is an important year for Scotsman Guide because 2021 marks the 20th year of our award-winning Commercial Edition. Commercial mortgage professionals across the U.S. rely on the monthly magazine to be informed, find lending partners and stay apprised of the trends that affect the industry.
Producing monthly magazines, online media and digital tools requires a dedicated team working together to achieve a shared goal. In Scotsman Guide’s case, this objective is to help mortgage originators establish funding relationships and make successful business decisions.
Our staff’s creativity, innovation and drive have helped commercial mortgage originators succeed for more than 20 years. The Commercial Edition’s long-lived success depends on hundreds of industry-leading authors who have written for Scotsman Guide, our loyal advertisers and tens of thousands of devoted monthly readers.
The year 2020 was one of expansion and innovation for Scotsman Guide. Our new website platform delivers the online media, data and digital tools that help commercial mortgage originators grow their businesses — all wrapped in a modern, technology-driven design. The Originator became a morning ritual for hundreds of thousands of mortgage professionals. Our magazines continued to evolve as well, with new editorial sections, a fresh new look and inventive data-driven content like “Market Insights.” These changes and others illustrate our ongoing dedication to enhance the benefits of our products.
Scotsman Guide’s desire to serve mortgage originators will never be satisfied. Our magazine, data products and online tools will continue to evolve. We are committed to connecting originators with lenders, sharing important news and trends, and providing data-driven market insights.
The Commercial Edition is 20 years old, but we’re only getting started. Thank you for your loyalty and support.
— Kevin Britton-Simmons, CEO, Scotsman Guide Inc.
