Mia Drennan is the co-founder of Glas (Global Loan Agency Services Limited). She launched the business in 2011 with a mission to transform debt administration services.
Historically, loan administration services were dominated by banks, but Drennan saw an opportunity to offer an independent solution.
After starting the business with just £6,000, it took her 400 meetings to land her first client. In 2024, the company generated £100m in revenue.
Here, Drennan discusses her entrepreneurial journey, leadership style and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Where did you get the idea for Glas?
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, a clear opportunity emerged to rethink how loan administration services were delivered. There were a lot of defaulted company loans, but many of the people who had been working in investment banking on proprietary desks and trading had moved into distressed debt credit funds. They were looking to buy these loans cheaply and recover their investments.
I saw an opportunity to provide a proactive, commercial, white-glove service to meet this need and help individuals to recover lost funds.
You started the business with just £6,000 – what did you spend the money on?
I invested £3,000 and my business partner, Brian Carne, invested another £3,000. This was largely spent on meeting expenses. In the first few months, I had more than 400 meetings, so a lot of it went on coffee!
I always look for curiosity, problem-solving ability and a growth mindset
Why do you think it took 400 meetings to land your first client?
As a facility agent on a big company loan, we receive money from lenders and pass it on to the company that’s borrowing the money. Then, a bit like a mortgage, the borrower pays interest every month and we pay it back to the lender.
For some companies originating loans worth hundreds of millions of pounds, that felt risky. We had to do a lot of education and build trust.
After you won your first client, how did you begin to build your team?
Initially, it was hard to find the right people and I made my fair share of recruitment mistakes. One of the biggest challenges was finding people who could adapt their skillset from working in large established institutions to a smaller, growing business.
Thankfully, I’ve found some brilliant people. I always look for curiosity, problem-solving ability and a growth mindset. They also need to be collaborative and dedicated to client success. With those qualities, you can start to build a really positive culture.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Kindness is essential, as is being the best version of myself for my team. As a leader, you need people to follow you and want to be by your side. I always try to build relationships with people so that they know I have their back. We’re a team, and I want us to win together.
We have staff in 10 countries, which is incredible, so my role now is really to delegate and motivate.
You’ve scaled the business from £6,000 to £100m. Have there been setbacks along the way?
Launching in the US was one of our biggest growth challenges. In 2015, a client wanted us to take charge of a transaction, but insisted we have an office and staff on the ground there. We had to hire quickly with little research, which was very difficult.
We also quickly learned that we needed to adapt to different regulations in the US, which took 18 months to sort out. If I did it again, I’d probably move out there and build the team while living and breathing the culture.
If you don’t succeed, you’ll either do something different and try again or you’ll return to work as a more capable employee
What advice would you give to an entrepreneur at the beginning of their journey?
Firstly, just go for it. If you don’t succeed, you’ll either do something different and try again or you’ll return to work as a more capable employee. Secondly, you need a clear plan for how to generate sales. If you have a steady pipeline of potential customers, then you’ll be able to survive because you’ll have cash flow.
Finally, set a goal. What are you trying to achieve? Is this a lifestyle business or do you want to scale it into a multi-million-pound company? There’s a lot of help available for entrepreneurs from all backgrounds now, which there wasn’t when I started out, so seek out mentors and potential angel investors and make it happen.
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Mia Drennan is the co-founder of Glas (Global Loan Agency Services Limited). She launched the business in 2011 with a mission to transform debt administration services.
Historically, loan administration services were dominated by banks, but Drennan saw an opportunity to offer an independent solution.
After starting the business with just £6,000, it took her 400 meetings to land her first client. In 2024, the company generated £100m in revenue.
