Hodge appoints deputy CEO as Paragon expands presence in North West

Burton (pictured) will oversee the mortgage and savings business in addition to the operations and customer teams at Hodge. He will also be a permanent member of the board. 

Burton joined the business in 2015 as head of finance, before moving up to managing director of mortgages in February 2019.   

He has been instrumental in the launch of Hodge’s 50+ and holiday let products and has also been a member of the Equity Release Council since 2019. He was later elected a board member in 2020.  

Burton will report directly to David Landen, chief executive at Hodge. 

Graeme Hughes, chair of Hodge, said: “In his five years at Hodge, Burton has made a notable impact on our mortgage portfolio and he will continue to build on this expertise within the savings and operations teams, in addition to continuing to lead the mortgage team. 

“As we embrace the post-Covid world, Burton’s experience will help us grow and innovate within our market, responsibly delivering great lending and savings products for our customers and firmly putting our customers at the centre of our business.” 

Burton added: “I am absolutely thrilled to step into this role at Hodge and work with the executive team to help the business grow and thrive.

“We have developed some really great products for customers in the specialist lending market in recent years. Hodge are well-placed to continue to build on this whilst developing our savings business, improving our service and continuing to evolve our existing product range.” 

Paragon development finance adds to North West team 

Paragon Bank’s development finance division has appointed Dave Rowlinson as relationship director for the North West region.   

Rowlinson, who will be based in Manchester, has an in-depth knowledge of the North West real estate and commercial property market and has over 30 years’ experience in banking and financial services.  

His previous roles include property director at Oaknorth Bank and senior manager at Investec, a position he held for over 11 years.  

Rowlinson said: “Paragon has ambitious plans to grow in the North West, helping to support small-to-medium-sized developers provide much needed new homes across the region. What attracted me to Paragon is the experience and pedigree of the development finance team, its commitment to the sector and its financial strength.  

“It’s a serious player in this sector, which is demonstrated by its continued support of developers throughout the coronavirus pandemic. I look forward to working with developers across the North West to help them realise their ambitions.”  

Robert Orr, Paragon Bank development finance managing director, added: “The North West is a market we know has great opportunity. It benefits from a strong economy, with traditional industries being complemented by high-tech sectors, world-class universities and diverse geography. Its football teams aren’t bad either.  

“People want to live in this region and Paragon is keen to support developers provide the housing to meet this demand.”