Close Brothers Property Finance CEO Pennal to retire with Hooper to succeed

Pennal joined Close Brothers Property Finance business, which includes Commercial Acceptances and Close Brothers Bridging Finance, as a director in 1997 and was promoted to the position of CEO in 2005.

During his tenure, the company has grown from a team of five people with a loan book of £40m to over 100 people, 7,100 new homes and a loan book of £1.7bn.

Hooper was head of lending at Pluto Finance for around a year and before that, spent 36 years at Natwest, including head of real estate finance.

He has been working with Close Brothers since September to ensure a “comprehensive handover”, with Pennal retiring on 1 January 2024.

Hooper will be supported by Rowland Thomas, managing director of Close Brothers Property Finance an Daniel Hertz, managing director of Commercial Assurances.

Adrian Sainsbury, chief executive officer of Close Brothers Group, said: “Frank’s 26-year track record of galvanising leadership, unwavering client service and impeccable values have been the foundation on which our property business has been built. Under his strategic counsel and direction, the business is now the market leader for SME development finance, lending to the UK’s most respected developers and housebuilders.”

“Phil’s appointment represents a strong hand-off on a high-performing business, which plays a critical role within the group. His depth of knowledge and experience in the sector means he is expertly positioned to take up the mantle and drive further growth in the years ahead.

‘The business will continue to excel’

Pennal said: “It has been a great privilege to work alongside such a hardworking and dedicated team. In some ways, the business is very different to the one I joined, but the collegiate environment, commitment to strive for excellence and emphasis on building long-standing client relationships, is still very much at its heart.

“Phil has excellent knowledge of the property finance market, impressive strategic capabilities and I have every confidence that the Close Brothers Property business will continue to excel under his leadership.”

Hooper added: “I am incredibly proud to take on the role of CEO from Frank and I’m looking forward to leading the business’ next phase of growth, while remaining true to the values that have underpinned Close Brothers’ business model for more than 125 years.

“The Property Finance business has a well-deserved reputation in the industry for being a market leader in its chosen sub sectors, and my priority in my new role will be to continue to provide the same exceptional level of client service; building on the strong foundations laid by the existing team.”