Mint splits bridging and development finance teams

Each team will have four underwriters, with Mint promising to announce a “radical” new bridging offering in the coming days.

The development finance team, which will be overseen by credit risk manager Peter Howarth (pictured), incorporates underwriters with development experience supported by an expanded portfolio management team.

Andrew Lazare, managing director of Mint Bridging, said that many lenders “either get development finance wrong or don’t understand it properly” so the firm has “invested heavily” in its team in order to get it right.

He added: “Many lenders mix together development and traditional bridging into one team but we felt that it would be better to provide a structure which allowed each of our staff to concentrate on one, rather than both of these areas of lending given that they are so very different.”

The move follows its decision to move away from sales staff and instead allow brokers to speak directly with the underwriters who will be handling their cases.

Lazare promised that next week the lender will announce new products and criteria for its bridging team “which we believe will be market leading and really shake up the sector”.