LendInvest hires North of England BDM

Based in Greater Manchester, Druce will be responsible for sourcing bridging and development loan opportunities between Staffordshire and the Scottish borders.

LendInvest expects most deals to come from within Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Yorkshire, which have benefited from recent national infrastructure investment.

Druce has more than ten years’ experience in mortgage sales, most recently as national development manager at Castle Trust, following a stint as head of distribution & development at Crystal Specialist Finance.

He also served as a Councillor for Cheshire East Borough Council for a number of years until 2015.

The appointment is LendInvest’s second BDM outside of London, following the recruitment of Peter McDermid as BDM for Scotland in July.

Chief commercial officer Matthew Tooth said: “Damien is well known among mortgage brokers in the north of England, making him a fantastic addition to our team who can hit the ground running. Local expertise is critical for a regional BDM, and we are confident that Damien is the man to spearhead our increased profile in the north.”

Northern renaissance

Some believe the Northern property market is set for a considerable upswing with more investors looking to the region for returns.

To this end in October United Trust Bank (UTB) announced plans to roll out its development and bridging finance solutions to businesses in the north of England, saying it saw “considerable potential” for further growth in the region.

Earlier this month specialist short-term lender Amicus Property Finance released details of three development projects in Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester.

Bridging Finance Solutions managing director Steve Barber, who has been funding property development, conversions and refurbishments in the North for the past decade, predicted the gap between the North and the South was diminishing after Brexit.

He said: “As we have seen over the years, the South East dictates the pace and direction of the market place and the rest of the country follows suit thereafter. We are undoubtedly seeing the ripple effect of the changes to the southern markers and house prices are increasing in the North.”

He explained: “The northern property market has always been less dependent on international buyers and funding and therefore Brexit will have far less impact, suggesting that the North will become a more appealing and stable area of the country to invest in.”

However, he added: “Nevertheless, buyer sentiment will be fragile and principally based on needs based buyers and opportunistic investors.”