Gatehouse Bank

Gatehouse Bank has appointed Tracey Bailey as its new chief operating officer.

In her new role, she will report to CEO, Charles Haresnape, and be based at the bank’s office in Wilmslow, Cheshire, from where she will oversee the operations in both Wilmslow and Milton Keynes.

Tracey has more than 20 years of experience in operational leadership roles, having started her career at Nationwide, after which she moved into specialist lending with HFC Bank as an assistant branch manager, and then heading up the secured lending division at Advantage Mortgage Solutions.

Following that, she moved to Together, where she worked for 22 years, most recently as director of lending and change, before joining Gatehouse.

“I was drawn to Gatehouse for a number of reasons: it has a great culture and values and it is a hugely innovative organisation with a great five-year strategy in place and a track record of continually growing and improving its products and services, from Shariah-compliant home finance to green savings accounts,” said Tracey.

“Having spent my recent career delivering change, as well as tactical and strategic improvements in finance, the bank feels like the perfect fit, and I’m excited by the challenge and keen to get started in helping to deliver results.”

Charles added: “Tracey has considerable experience in key operational leadership roles where she has driven transformation and strategy, so she will be a great asset.

“We’ve been developing new ways to enhance our products and expand our offering, so it is an ideal time for her to join us; her experience will be invaluable as we look at additional ways to grow the business.”

Avamore Capital

Avamore Capital has appointed Amir Khan as a relationship manager for south and central London.

In his new role, he will work alongside Andreas Yianni, who will continue to support partners in north and central London.

Amir will look to build new relationships and work with his existing network of broker partners to increase awareness and accessibility to Avamore’s specialist funding range.

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While his professional background is focused on complex BTL, he has always had a keen interest in the development market.

Prior to joining Avamore, Amir held positions at State Bank of India, Aldermore and, most recently, West One.

“I am looking forward to working with new and existing broker partners and providing solution driven funding options for them and their developer customers,” Amir said.

“I have always had a personal interest in the development space; seeing my father renovate, extend and convert homes always made me keen to enter this market, and understanding the value that can be added to the right security is extremely exciting.”

Zuhair Mirza, principal at Avamore, added: “We’re really excited to have Amir joining the team and helping us increase our exposure in London. 

“It will remain incredibly important to us that we hold strong relationships with broker firms based in and around Avamore’s central hub. 

“As the market changes, we will always ensure that we are equipping our relationship managers with competitive and truly relevant products to offer the market. 

“The hire reflects our commitment to servicing a broader proportion of the market, and we look forward to seeing the impact which Amir will make on the business.”

Amir is the second of two relationship mangers that have joined the lender this year.

In March, the business announced it had reached £150m of redemptions with no impairments to date and, more recently, has passed £300m of total lending. 

So far in 2021, Avamore has instructed relevant professionals against £100m worth of loans, putting it in a strong position to reach its target of £180m of completions for the calendar year. 

This coincides with expansions across all departments, with the recent hire of two placement analysts.

The finance provider will also soon announce expansion in its underwriting and origination departments and credit analysis and asset management teams.