Lawton will be responsible for launching and overseeing the bridging proposition, which Chetwood Bank said would be available in the coming months and initially focus on the non-regulated residential sector.
The bridging proposition will feature a “flexible lending policy supported by commercially minded underwriting” and there will be a “focus on providing surety of funding” to brokers and their customers.
Lawton joins Chetwood Bank from Morpheus Lending, where he was director of operations for around a year. Prior to that, he worked at OSB Group for around two years, first as head of bridging and commercial, then as head of bridging.
Prior to that, he was at Precise Mortgages, which became part of OSB Group, for nearly 12 years. He started as an underwriting manager for short-term lending and then became head of bridging.
Lawton has also held roles at Pricapita, GMAC-RFC and Manchester Building Society.
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Paul Noble, CEO of Chetwood Bank, said: “We’re delighted to welcome someone of Richard’s calibre to the team. He has a proven track record of launching successful bridging propositions to market, so we’re thrilled to have him on board to further support the bank’s growth aspirations.
“We’re committed to diversifying our offering by providing new product offerings and solutions. Our bridging proposition will give brokers another tool at their disposal to meet their clients’ ever-changing needs.”
Lawton added: “This is a really exciting opportunity which I just couldn’t turn down, having successfully launched bridging propositions with other lenders.
“Our goal is simple: to provide a five-star service to brokers and their clients, making the journey as seamless and as quick as possible for everyone involved. That means not only streamlining the broker and client experience, but also ensuring our internal bridging team has the tools and processes to deliver efficiently and consistently. I can’t wait to get started and help take our proposition to the next level.”
Chetwood Bank recently reached the £5bn balance sheet milestone and opened a fourth office in Manchester.
The company also combined the sales operations of ModaMortgages and CHL Mortgages for Intermediaries to give brokers more “’comprehensive support”.
