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Every business has a story and unique circumstances. I choose to specialise in commercial finance because I enjoy learning about people and tailer-making a solution that is meaningful to your business.
I was born and raised in Atherton with two older brothers. My parents owned and operated a construction business for most of my life and as a family we moved to Cairns in 2016 chasing warmer weather. I am a devoted Cowboys supporter and enjoy fishing, camping and spending time with my new fiancé and dogs.
I have over 8 years of experience in the finance industry most of which has been served at ANZ bank. I have worked as a branch manager across FNQ including Innisfail, Port Douglas and Cairns. My last role in the bank was as a Senior Business Banking Manager servicing the FNQ region. I decided to join Astute in 2024 because I was frustrated with the direction of banks and wanted to get back to old school face to face service.
If you would like to sit down and discuss your business, I’d love to hear from you! I can help you with:
• Property Purchases
• Asset/Vehicle finance
• Business purchases & restructures
• Self-Managed Superannuation lending
• Business expansion & working capital solutions
My husband and I went to Astute today, firstly met with Shae at the front reception and had a chat with her. It was lovely to chat with such a friendly happy lady who made us feel welcome.
We went upstairs and met with John Watts for some financial advice. We have known John Watts for over 10 years now, and truly admire his honesty and ‘no beating around the bush business eiquette’. We would highly recommend anyone requiring financial advice and/or a financial bank loan to not look any further than that of the ASTUTE team. J Thanks Astute….
Astute are very professional & helpful. Would recommend these guys to anyone looking at refinancing or purchasing. Started with this team when they were in their little office, my how they have grown. Special thanks to Verena for all her help but all the staff are wonderful and great with the little ones as well J Thanks heaps.
Prompt efficient service from the 1st phone call to make an appointment through to the loan contract. Excellent service all round. Well informed and kept up to date throughout the process . Highly recommended. Thank you.
We have been using John since we bought our first house in 2008 and taken sound advice from him in all our finance dealing ever since; which has included, opening a business, building our second house and now purchasing an investment property. We trust the advice given to us and not understanding the finance world hugely rely on the knowledge given to us in making decisions. We thank Verena very much with her patience throughout each deal and her simple way of explaining the overwhelming fluff that the banks put on paper. Johns stickmen and drawings helped us immensely 🙂 We really feel like we have actually made some good friends when dealing with Astute.
I had no understanding of how the insurance side of Astute worked. After my first visit with Peta I was blown away with how she explained everything to me. And what I didn’t understand she was happy to take the extra time to explain them again. I felt she was very thorough and when I left I was able to think about what suited my needs to make a decision on how I wanted to proceed. Thanks Peta for advice.
I found every time I rang the office with a query the phone was answered promptly. Gus and his team stayed in contact at all times either by email or phone just to make sure I had complete understanding of the forms I was signing and the procedures they were taking to finalise the loan. I was never left wondering what happens next.
Gus was incredibly helpful and went above and beyond his job requirements. My partner and I were blown away with the high level of customer service and extra assistance he gave us throughout the process making the purchase of our first home a lot less stressful. Gus was prompt, professional yet down to earth and always contactable. Dan and I have already recommended his services to friends and can’t speak highly enough of Gus.
