She joined the specialist lender from LendInvest, where she worked for almost six years, most recently as a bridging and development underwriter manager. 

“I love taking a company with really good values that’s got big ambitions and is really excited, and then growing and scaling it into something really quite successful,” she said when discussing why she decided to join. “That’s what I saw in Glenhawk.”

Her appointment coincides with an office move, a number of other senior hires, and the backing of a £25m mezzanine funding line with Balbec Capital to support the finance provider’s regulated and unregulated bridging lending. 

Glenhawk launched its regulated bridging product in October 2020 — the first of several products it has planned in its efforts to target the homeowner sector — after becoming FCA regulated last February. 

Kaitlyn told B&C that the regulated bridging product had proven to be really successful and “exceeded expectations”.

“Our enquiries are doing very well; we’ve had targets each month this year that we’ve surpassed,” she added.

She hinted that there are other offerings that the specialist lender is working on currently that it hopes to launch this year, some of which will be in the regulated space.

“Some very big things are going to be happening in the next couple of years,” she divulged.

“In this last year, especially, we have really put a lot of focus into improving many aspects,” she said, including adding more structure to its operations and processes, and implementing new systems and automations.

•   Recognise plans to underwrite £250m of loans by March 2022
•   Glenhawk completes its first loan in Scotland
•   Jamie Pritchard joins Glenhawk as director of sales

When asked whether the office move will lead to expansion within the team, Kaitlyn replied that a lot of recruitment was done during lockdown.

“We did that for a reason; we really wanted to have a strong infrastructure to facilitate our plans and future growth,” she explained.

This included a new head of products, head of sales, and additional BDMs, case managers and underwriters.

Glenhawk is on course to grow its UK loan book to £200m by the end of 2021, which Kaitlyn believes is down to its “exceptional service” and human touch.

“The infrastructure that we’ve now almost completed, along with the new people onboarded and systems and products that we’re lining up, should see that [goal] delivered,” she added.

This year, she hopes to implement slicker operations.

“I think it’s very good . . . but it can always be improved,” she said, “[by ensuring] the lending team is being as efficient as possible, asking the right questions at the right stage, making sure that brokers can always get in touch with us and talk to someone on the phone or by email and that we’re responsive, and that we really provide the best service from start to finish for our brokers and borrowers.”

The lender will also be integrating a new portal for brokers, to assist them with enquiries and applications. 

This week, Glenhawk completed its first loan in Scotland as part of its strategic priority to grow its footprint outside of the South East. 

The full interview can be watched below.