James, who started his new job with the lender today (18th January), has over two decades of experience working in the specialist market.

He joins from Precise Mortgages, where he worked for over seven years, and was most recently specialist distribution manager.

James started his career as a mortgage adviser for a high street bank, and has also worked as an operations manager for a specialist distributor, which he said gave him valuable experience "on both sides of the fence”.

In his new role, James will forge relationships with intermediaries across the North of England and Scotland in order to contribute to Together’s continued growth, despite the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 13th January, the lender announced in a trading update for the quarter ended 31st December 2020 that average monthly loan originations were £74.4m, up 70.6% on the previous quarter.

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Commenting on his appointment, James said: “All businesses in our sector had a hugely challenging 2020, but what particularly impressed me about Together is how the business also turned these challenges into an opportunity — investing in technology to boost efficiency, while maintaining its common-sense approach, which has resulted in an even better service to its partners.

“Together truly appreciates the value of relationships with packagers in the specialist space and I’m excited to start working closely with partner firms to help identify growth opportunities, provide support and win business.”

Sundeep Patel, head of intermediary sales at Together, said James’s knowledge, relationships and expertise would build on this success, helping Together to realise its future growth plans.

He added: “James is well respected and a big name in the specialist lending industry and we’re delighted to welcome him to our business at what is an exciting time for us. 

“His CV speaks for itself and we’re looking forward to his undoubtedly important contribution to Together as we move into 2021 and beyond.”