Both will take on the role of senior relationship managers and report to regional director for Midlands and the South, Jayne Follows.
The firm said the appointments reflected “strong growth” in its regional property book, as well as improved demand from real estate professional and SMEs and commercial finance brokers.
Hobbs will be based in Birmingham and has over 30 years of experience. He was most recently relationship director for real estate at Lloyds Banking Group for over five years.
Prior to that he was a lending and asset manager at Nationwide Building Society for nearly seven years, and before that worked at Salt Commercial and Santander.
Shepherdson will be based in Leicester, and joins from Handelsbanken where he worked for nearly a decade. Prior to that he was a business partner at Yorkshire Bank for nearly eight years.
The bank said it had seen enhanced demand for its real estate products in 2021 across the Midlands and UK market, and demand was still growing with Midlands activity rising for commercial and mixed-use space.
The firm said total lending had surpassed £10bn and deposits had grown to over £1bn at the end of 2021.
Follows said: “We’re delighted to be adding Gary and Vaughan to our successful Midlands team. Both have extensive experience and a deep understanding of the needs of our clients and the brokers that support them.
“Midlands is a key growth market for the bank, and we will continue to invest in the local team.”
