Hope Capital hires Livesey in new underwriting role; CSF makes promotions – round-up

Livesey has been appointed as senior underwriting coordinator and will be responsible for overseeing business volumes at Hope Capital, which lowered specialist residential pricing earlier this month. 

She joined the lender as an underwriter in 2023 and her promotion comes as the lender experiences higher levels of business. 

Livesey will work with the sales and underwriting teams to ensure everything runs smoothly and the process is sped up. She will also update brokers on the progress of cases. 

She formerly worked at Alternative Bridging Corporation as a case manager for nearly two years, before moving to Together as underwriter for just over a year. Livesey then went to work for Somo Bridging as an underwriter, where she was for six months before joining Hope Capital. 

Hope Capital said she had already had a significant impact on the business in her short time there, such as introducing new practices to improve operations. This includes the launch of a bot to the Hope Capital app, which is used to issue offers quickly and remove the need for borrowers to call up for information. 

Livesey said: “I am thrilled to have been offered this opportunity to get stuck into a new role, which enables me to use my experience as an underwriter to enhance our operations at Hope Capital. We are as busy as ever, which is why there is a huge demand in the business for this new role.” 

Laura Carr, head of underwriting at Hope Capital, added: “Laurel brings a wealth of experience, with a keen interest in further developing and enhancing our offering. Not only will Laurel be a huge asset to the team, but she will also be playing a pivotal role in the legal process and therefore will be a great support to our stakeholder partners as well.” 

Jonathan Sealey, CEO at Hope Capital, said: “Laurel’s new role is part of our ambitious plans to bolster all of the divisions across Hope Capital. As we take on more cases, it is essential we are best-positioned to deliver an outstanding service to brokers and their clients. Having talent on board, such as people with Laurel’s calibre, will ensure we can do this.” 

Crystal Specialist Finance makes two promotions

Crystal Specialist Finance (CSF) promoted Dan Morris to intermediary sales director and Sat Bhandal as corporate sales director. 

The lender said the hires were part of its strategy to meet its growth targets this year and in the future. 

CSF has made two strategic promotions within its sales division as it looks to meet ambitious growth targets through 2024 and beyond. 

Morris, formerly key account manager, will have responsibility for managing the telephone and field sales teams. He will continue overseeing the support provided to mortgage clubs and networks and build on new and existing broker relationships. 

He has worked for CSF for seven years. 

Bhandal joined the lender in 2020 as corporate relationship director, and in his new role, he will develop the lender’s professional introducer relationships and lead the team of client relationship directors to seek new opportunities. 

Both will report to Jason Berry, group sales director. 

Berry said: “This strategic decision underscores CSF’s commitment to nurturing talent from within the business and empowering employees to take on greater responsibilities.

“Both Dan and Sat have been with us a combined 11 years and are exceptional individuals who have proven track records of achieving sales growth. 

 “In their new leadership positions, they’ll both be able to own and maximise the opportunities that exist in their particular channels, and I have no doubt they will serve the needs of both their teams as well as our brokers, introducers and professional partners superbly.”