He joins from Hope Capital, where he was a business development executive for over three years. Prior to this, he worked at Barclays for nearly seven years in intermediary sales.
Lavelle (pictured) said he was “delighted” to join the lender at this time, “as the business grows its distribution footprint plus, widens its proposition to property developers and investors”.
He added: “My first deal, a £2.95m case in Liverpool which was announced last week, demonstrates the potential for DCI and how our net lending model strikes a chord with developers and investors alike.”
Michael Clifford, commercial director at District and County Investments, said: “It’s great time for Ben to join our ever-expanding team at DCI, especially as the North West especially has always been a strong region for us and his recent deal demonstrates immediately the value Ben will bring to the business.”
Clifford said that for many developers, particularly SME and regional housebuilders, the time between planning approval and the start of a project had become “longer, more technical and more capital-intensive”.
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He added: “This is where bridging finance is becoming more strategically important, as it is being used as a bridge to delivery and it’s where our net lending models really works.
“We size the facility around the capital that is actually being deployed into the project – land, build costs and professional fees – rather than an inflated number padded by retained interest.”
