Founding director Collins returns to Sirius Finance

Collins has been living and working in New Zealand since 2021. 

He was a property finance specialist at Commercial Property Partner for over a year, before joining the Bank of New Zealand as commercial property partner. 

Collins originally joined the Brightstar Group, parent company of Sirius Finance, in 2012 as a director. In 2016, he became director of Sirius Finance and held that position until he left the country in 2021. 

He has over 30 years of experience in financial services and has also been a director at the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB). 

Simon Nichola’s return

Simon Nichola has also returned to Brightstar Group as senior associate at Sirius Finance. 

He has 20 years of experience in the sector, spanning buy-to-let, commercial, bridging and development. 

He was formerly a residential mortgage specialist at Brightstar Group, then joined Simply Specialist Lending as a specialist mortgage adviser. 

William Lloyd-Hayward, group chief operating officer and MD of Sirius Finance, said: “We are delighted to welcome back Rob Collins to the Sirius team. Rob was a co-founder of Sirius back in 2016 and was a major contributor to the growth and success of the business before leaving the business to return to New Zealand. He rejoins Sirius with the same deep knowledge and experience that customers and lenders know him for and at an exciting time for our business.  

“The arrival of Rob follows the addition of Simon Nichola, who joined us earlier in 2024. We have always prided ourselves on our commitment to best-in-class and these additions are just another example of that.” 

Collins (pictured) added: “I’m delighted to return to Sirius Finance, which is a brokerage I co-founded back in 2016. There have been many changes since then, but the firm’s obsession with outstanding service delivered by high-calibre professionals remains. We have a very exciting future ahead of us. It’s good to be back.” 

Nichola said: “It is great to be back working with the hardworking and dedicated team at Sirius, at a time where they have just gone through some really exciting changes. In line with our mission to ‘make the seemingly impossible, possible’ I can’t wait to get started on finding solutions for our clients’ needs and building long-lasting relationships.”