Liam Lawlor has been promoted from senior business development manager (BDM) to sales director, overseeing some of Octane’s newest BDMs.  

He has worked at Octane since 2017 and will continue to report to managing director Mark Posniak. 

Former senior credit manager Graham Macaulay has been made head of short-term lending, with three of the credit managers reporting to him. He will continue to develop them while providing credit intelligence and support to the rest of the team.  

Macaulay joined Octane in 2018. 

Donna-Louise House has been promoted to head of buy-to-let credit, after joining the lender in 2018 as senior credit manager. She will head up Octane’s new buy to let team.  

Octane soft-launched its buy-to-let offering during lockdown with a number of key partners and will be widening its distribution towards the end of the summer. 

House and Macaulay will both report to Matt Smith, director of credit and risk.

Jonathan Samuels (pictured), CEO of Octane Capital, said: “We’re always keen to promote talent and commitment from within and Liam, Graham and Donna, who have worked tirelessly to grow Octane in recent years, deserve to have their hard work rewarded.  

“Each is a huge asset to the company and we are confident they will continue to go from strength to strength in their new roles.”  

He added: “Things have picked up sharply since the property market emerged from lockdown and all three will be vital to ensuring we continue to grow our market share at a time when, more than ever, experience counts.”   

He will be responsible for developing the lender’s product proposition to support brokers and customers.  

McMillan has 17 years’ experience in the specialist lending industry, with his most recent role being group mortgage product manager at OneSavings Bank. Other previous roles include loan manager at Interbay and financial planning manager at NatWest.  

Emma Cox, sales director at Shawbrook, said: “Even in these uncertain times, we are committed to continually improving and investing in our proposition to support brokers and customers.  

“This includes expanding our expert teams with the right talent, so we are pleased to welcome Bradley to the Shawbrook family and look forward to his contribution.” 

McMillan added: “It’s great to join a team where everyone shares the same passion and commitment to bettering the experience for their customers.  

“I’m excited to be a part of that and looking forward to getting stuck in and helping shape Shawbrook’s offering.” 

Glenhawk expands team by two

Glenhawk has appointed Joan Drummond in the newly created role as head of collections and Andreea Negroiu as treasury associate.  

Drummond (pictured) will head the loan servicing and collections team.  

She has over 20 years of experience in loan servicing, having previously managed operational teams at Mars Capital and CHL Mortgages, where she dealt with loan books across the residential, buy-to-let and commercial sectors.  

Negroiu will report to group treasurer Daron Kularatnam as part of the team responsible for securing and managing third-party funding lines.  

She previously held roles within the RBS capital markets team and with NewDay’s treasury department.   

Guy Harrington, founder and chief executive of Glenhawk, said: “Joan and Andreea will be excellent additions to our existing strong team.   

“As we continue to grow the business, we require people with new skills and expertise, and Joan in particular brings a wealth of experience which will be invaluable.” 

Lockdown growth 

Glenhawk has also reported it generated £191m in new loan enquiries since the government-imposed lockdown was announced on the 23 March.  

During the same period, the challenger bank said it has experienced no defaults and redeemed £12m of loans.  

In March, Glenhawk announced it agreed a senior funding line with JP Morgan, the first time JP Morgan has invested in a private securitisation backed by UK bridging loans.  

This helped increase Glenhawk’s maximum loan size offering from £3m to £5m and will support its entry into the homeowner mortgage market.  

Hollands (pictured) has 25 years’ experience in the mortgage industry, having previously held roles at Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Ireland Mortgages and TSB.

He has also worked as a mortgage broker and was most recently national account manager at Sainsbury’s for Intermediaries.

This recruitment follows the appointment of Darren Perry in December, also to the role of national account manager.

Crystal

Crystal Specialist Finance (CSF) has appointed Samantha Pettit as business development manager – North and promoted Dan Morris to key account director.

Pettit will be responsible for growing sales and serving intermediaries located in the Midlands and the North of England. She joins from Clever Lending where she held the post of broker relationship manager.

In his new role Morris will take responsibility for key relationships with mortgage networks and large national distribution partners. He joined CSF in May 2016 and previously held the post of director of intermediaries.

Both Pettit and Morris will report to interim group sales director, Jason Berry.

Catalyst

Meanwhile, Catalyst Property Finance has promoted James Farge to head of new business.

Farge will manage Catalyst’s internal new business team.

Reporting to Catalyst’s chief executive, Chris Fairfax, Farge will be responsible for generating new short-term loan business, overseeing the process from the initial enquiry to the offer.

He joined the company at the start of 2019 from a property sales background.

Sard (pictured) will take up the role of managing director of home buying and ownership in the summer and will be responsible for leading the team. He will report to Les Matheson, chief executive of personal banking.

He replaces Ian McLaughlin, who left the role in May last year to join Bank of Ireland as chief executive.

Sard’s previous roles at Santander include, managing director of Santander for Intermediaries, and chief executive of Santander’s insurance services in the UK. He became the managing director of Abbey for Intermediaries in May 2011.

He also chaired the UK Finance mortgages product and service board from February 2018 to December 2018.

Brad Fordham will take up the role as interim head of mortgages from today.

A NatWest spokesperson said: “We are looking forward to Miguel Sard joining the home buying and ownership team in due course and welcome his expertise and experience in the sector.”

Santander head of retail and business banking Susan Allen said: “I would like to thank Miguel for all his efforts over the last sixteen years with the group, and the last nine years in mortgages.

“He has helped us to deliver a consistently strong performance in mortgage lending and he leaves with our very best wishes.”

Mortgage lending up

Sard’s departure follows the bank’s financial results revealing its highest net mortgage growth in a decade.

Gross mortgage lending came in at £31.3bn in 2018, up from £28.8bn in the previous year – £7bn of which came from first-time buyers, up from £4.8bn in 2018, Santander’s most recent full-year results showed.

Its home loan book jumped by £7.4bn in 2019, to £165.4bn from £158bn in 2018, and around 60 per cent of mortgages retained were refinanced online.

However, competitive mortgage pricing took a toll on its bottom line and overall profit before tax fell by 37 per cent year-on-year to £981m.

Barnes was responsible for recruiting new broker firms to the mortgage network and helping existing members to grow their own business by hiring new advisers.

He joined Tenet in 2013 and worked as a regional business manager for the network before being given the recruitment position in January 2018 .

In October, TenetLine’s general manager Richard Conway resigned from the company.

The network upset scores of mortgage advisers by introducing a mandatory IT system, Intelligent Office, in September after giving them four months notice. Brokers said the network had not left enough time to test the system or given them sufficient notice to plan for the change.

Mortgage Solutions saw a letter dated 26 June, sent to the board of Tenet signed by 35 adviser firms asking for a more gradual introduction of the “underdeveloped” Intelligent Office system. In the letter, advisers said the introduction of IO was “ill-planned”, “operationally and financially damaging”, and an “increased financial burden”.

Four broker firms that had handed in their resignation from the network, who spoke to Mortgage Solutions anonymously, were facing a combined bill of £140,000 to leave.

A spokesperson for Tenet said: “We can confirm that Lee Barnes has left the business and we wish him well in his future career. We expect to be able to announce his replacement shortly.”

Barnes could not be reached for comment.

Thompson (pictured) succeeds Sue Hayes, who is departing the bank. 

Aldermore said the director of mortgages position would be open internally and externally, with the recruitment process beginning shortly.

“Aldermore always looks for the right talent to fulfil our roles. We will announce our new director of mortgages as soon as we appoint,” it said.

The lender pointed to its track record of promoting from within as when Claire Cordell was raised from director of finance to chief financial officer last September, succeeding James Mack who is to join Barclays UK as chief financial officer on 3 February.

“Damian’s appointment once again shows the depth of talent within Aldermore,” said Philip Monks, chief executive at Aldermore.

“Damian has made a significant contribution since he joined us, driving growth in our mortgage offering particularly in first-time buyer and buy-to-let markets.

“He’s a dynamic, knowledgable and well-regarded speaker on the mortgage sector. His appointment ensures we’ll continue delivering great products and service for retail customers,” Monks added.

Thompson joined Aldermore in 2017 on an interim basis and was appointed permanently in August 2018. He previously served at HBOS, Principality and Newcastle Building Society.

An interim FCA chief executive will be appointed before Bailey’s departure to manage the organisation until a permanent successor is chosen, HM Treasury said.

Bailey has led the FCA since July 2016, having previously held the role of deputy governor of the Bank of England for prudential regulation and CEO of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

He has been a member of the bank’s Financial Policy Committee since 2012.

Bailey will be the 121st governor in the bank’s 325-year history and the ninth to be appointed since the bank’s nationalisation in 1946.

He has been appointed for an eight-year term and will receive a salary of £495,000.

Carney, who took on the role in 2013, has once again extended his stay in the position, this time just from 31 January to 15 March, to facilitate the departure.

He previously extended his notice period twice to help ensure a smooth Brexit process for the national economy.

Critical time

Bailey said it was a tremendous honour to be chosen as governor, particularly at such a critical time.

“The bank has a very important job and, as governor, I will continue the work that Mark Carney has done to ensure that it has the public interest at the heart of everything it does,” he said.

“It is important to me that the bank continues to work for the public by maintaining monetary and financial stability and ensuring that financial institutions are safe and sound.

“I am committed to the bank being an accessible and approachable institution, as well as an open and diverse place to work,” he added.

Bailey also thanked his colleagues at the FCA for their work during his time leading the regulator.

Wise counsel

Carney said he was delighted to welcome Andrew Bailey back to the bank as its next governor.

“Andrew brings unparalleled experience, built over three decades of dedicated service across all policy areas of the bank, and most recently as CEO of the FCA,” Carney said.

“Andrew is widely and deeply respected for his leadership managing the financial crisis, developing the new regulatory frameworks, and supporting financial innovation to better serve UK households and businesses.

“Over the years, I benefited greatly from his support and wise counsel. I wish Andrew and the bank continued success in their work to serve the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability,” he added.

Competitive field

Announcing the appointment, chancellor Sajid Javid said: “When we launched this process, we said we were looking for a leader of international standing with expertise across monetary, economic and regulatory matters.

“In Andrew Bailey that is who we have appointed. Andrew was the stand-out candidate in a competitive field. He is the right person to lead the bank as we forge a new future outside the EU and level-up opportunity across the country.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mark Carney for his service as governor. The intellect, rigour and leadership he brought to the role during a critical time was a significant contribution to the UK economy moving to recovery and growth,” Javid added.

History at the bank

Bailey joined the bank in 1985 and has held roles including executive director for banking services and chief cashier, private secretary to the governor, and head of the international economic analysis division in monetary analysis.

Treasury noted that he led much of the bank’s work on bank resolution and supervision following the crisis of 2007/9 and that he has extensive international experience through his work with the Financial Stability Board, and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions.

The process for recruiting a permanent FCA chief executive will be run by HM Treasury and will follow the government’s Principles of Public Appointments and Governance Code, as overseen by the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Darren Perry has been promoted to the newly created role of national account manager.

Perry will work with Brightstar’s network and club partners as well as appointed representatives and members making sure they have the right tools and support grow their businesses, the firm said.

Alongside Perry’s promotion, Michelle Westley, head of marketing at Brightstar Financial, will expand her role, working with the management teams at networks and clubs.

Brightstar will also be expanding its team, with the recruitment of an internal sales and marketing executive.

Bradley Moore (pictured), managing director at Brightstar Financial, said: “We firmly believe that there is absolutely no reason why a broker should turn away any genuine client and are always on hand to ensure complex cases are made easy.

“In his new role, Darren will work collaboratively with Brightstar’s partners to make sure more brokers are able to identify and place even more possibilities, and more clients can benefit from an expert approach to specialist finance.”

Darren Perry, national account manager at Brightstar Financial, added: “I’ve worked at Brightstar, as an expert in second charge mortgages, for a number of years now and I have first-hand experience of what a difference we can make to the lives of our brokers and their clients.

“I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into this new role and, working alongside Michelle, helping more of our partners to create more opportunities for their brokers, and more solutions for clients.”

Bloom joined Masthaven in 2016, when he was appointed managing director of its development finance division, the department he was tasked with establishing. 

He was appointed to head the short-term lending division in November 2017. 

A spokesperson for Masthaven said: “We can confirm that James Bloom will be leaving Masthaven at the end of October.    

“James has worked with dedication to help develop Masthaven’s short-term lending proposition and has overseen numerous product launches. We would like to thank him for his work and commitment to Masthaven’s vision. We wish him the best of luck. 

Changes at the top 

Earlier this week Masthaven reshuffled its senior department with new hires and internal promotions. 

Leigh Bartlett was appointed chief financial officer and executive director while managing director Jon Hall was made chief commercial officer and deputy chief executive.  

Furthermore, Tricia Halpin was promoted to chief people officer and Paul McCan was promoted to chief technology officer.

Erbil Erbil (pictured far left) joins as an experienced business development manager from PBF Investments.

He started his career with new-build developer Ulus Group before moving to Payment Cloud Technologies to work on the development of lite-banking products.

Ross Laurie (far right), who worked at LendInvest, joins as a credit analyst and George Durrant (second from left) joins as a loan monitoring officer.

Chief investment officer Vivek Jeswani (centre right) said: “As Bridge Invest continues to grow and given bright outlooks for 2020, our three new hires will support our expansion.

“Hiring a second BDM was a natural progression for us. Our BDM’s help process and underwrite loans as well as develop broker relations, making Erbil a key new addition to our team”