He takes over from John Carter, who has been the commercial director at Aldermore for around eight years. Prior to that, he spent around 13 years at CYBG and also held roles at ING, Bank of Ireland and Bank of Scotland.
In his role, Rizvi will lead the commercial real estate team and be responsible for developing the bank’s proposition for developers, institutional investors and owner-occupiers across both residential and commercial sectors.
The lender added that it will focus on “focus on providing flexible, relationship-led finance solutions across sectors and deal types”, supporting its “ambitions to grow its presence in the UK property market”.
Rizvi previously worked at NatWest for around nine years, most recently as regional director for real estate finance within its corporate and commercial banking arm.
During his time at NatWest, he also garnered experience in the commercial market, lending transformation and corporate and commercial banking.
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Before that, he worked at Royal Bank of Scotland for around four years. Prior to that, he was at NAB, working in structured finance and acquisition finance for just over a year.
He also spent around four years at Bank of Ireland, working in structured and specialist finance for around four years.
Danielle Soto, managing director of business finance and savings at Aldermore, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Azfar to Aldermore. His deep knowledge of the commercial property market and proven leadership in structured real estate finance make him a great fit as we scale our commercial real estate offering.
“Azfar’s appointment underlines our commitment to invest in senior expertise to better support our developer and investor customers and the brokers who work with them.”
Rizvi added: “I’m excited to be joining Aldermore at a time of real opportunity in the market. Aldermore’s relationship-focused approach and strong foundations mean we can deliver tailored finance solutions that help clients move quickly on the right deals.
“With big ambitions for growth, my focus is on helping Aldermore strengthen its commercial real estate proposition across the UK – writing more deals, backing more investors and developers and making a real difference for clients and broker partners. Alongside my team, I look forward to building on the bank’s momentum and working closely with brokers and clients to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Last month, the firm convened a roundtable with SME developers, builders and government officials.
