Fortwell joins European finance body

The trade body, Commercial Real Estate Finance Council Europe (CREFCE), aims to promote transparent, liquid and sustainable commercial real estate debt markets.

Colin Sanders (pictured), Fortwell Capital’s CEO, said: “We are staunch supporters of trade associations and consider them to be a force of strength for the real estate industry. CREFCE boasts among its expanding membership some of the most high profile and respected names in the sector. Deciding to add our name was not a difficult decision to make.”

The high-value property lender specialises in bridging finance, buy to let, development finance and structured finance, providing loans in the £3m to £250m range.

The CREFCE autumn conference, which will be sponsored by Fortwell, is to be held in the City of London on 14-15 November, with a keynote speech by Kamal Ahmed, economics editor of BBC News.

Dan Smith, executive director and head of structured finance at Fortwell Capital, will appear as one of the event’s three co-chairs. He will lead a panel discussion on Brexit entitled: “Borrowers & Lenders: sounding-out Brexit – what do lenders really want in the new paradigm?”

Peter Cosmetatos, chief executive of CREFC Europe, added: “The firm’s [Fortwell’s] expertise and experience will play a crucial role in helping us to continue to promote and inform policy around CRE finance. The role of alternative lenders continues to grow in significance around Europe and it is important that we as a sector do everything possible to support a vibrant and diverse market place for real estate debt.”

Fortwell Capital is also a member of the Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL), a patron of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), and an associate lender member of the Association of Bridging Professionals (AoBP).