Appointments

Assetz Capital, Avamore and UTB expand teams




Assetz Capital, Avamore Capital and United Trust Bank have bolstered their teams with new hires.

Assetz Capital

Assetz Capital has appointed Laleta Buctkuar and promoted Colin Mottram as relationship directors.

Laleta, who has a wealth of experience working within the intermediary market, joins the specialist lender from Roma Finance.

Prior to this, she was part of Together’s team for 12 years.

Meanwhile, Colin has been working for Assetz Capital for two years as a senior relationship manager.

Mark Standley, national commercial director at Assetz Capital, said: “We have offered bespoke bridging loans for many years, and while we can still deliver on complex cases, we have also launched a sharper standardised proposition that has been well received by our intermediary partners. 

“This simplifies the process and reduces the time investment required by all parties to deliver on the majority of bridging cases.

“Whether routine and simple or bespoke and creative, we are well placed to manage funding requirements throughout the loan lifecycle, including the exit bridge-to-term or bridge-to-development.

“That is why we will continue to invest in the very best talent right across our business to ensure the best possible service experience for our borrowers and brokers.

“We are keen to engage with intermediaries across the UK to collectively take our bridging loans to market at scale.”

The new appointments are part of the company’s strategic focus on the bridging market, as it approaches £1.5bn lent since its inception in 2013.

The lender aims to accelerate the growth of its bridging loan book in the coming months.

In June, the firm also appointed Irene Thomas as director of lending operations.

Assetz Capital is currently running a summer rate reduction promotion of 0.45% across all loan products, including bridging, with the rate of 0.61% per month available to borrowers wishing to progress to valuation on or before 31st July.

Avamore Capital

Avamore Capital has appointed Gili Cohen as an underwriter.

Gili joins the lender after spending three years at Pluto Finance, where he was responsible for underwriting loans predominately in the £10m-plus space.

Throughout his career, he has worked on front-end origination, deal assessment and underwriting, and asset management.

His prior experience on larger-ticket transactions is set to elevate Avamore’s capacity to access deals outside of its current parameters.

“I am pleased to be joining a fast growing and dynamic team with a developer-centric focus which will allow me to work with like-minded and forward-thinking individuals,” said Gili.

“Avamore is on a significant growth trajectory; having the opportunity to drive that success while bringing in my prior experience to add value is truly exciting. 

“I am looking forward to supporting Avamore’s borrowers and brokers, as well as forming strong relationships with all of its service providers.”

The appointment follows recent announcements of growth across all departments, as well as several other new hires

Philip Gould, principal at Avamore, commented: “Gili’s hire comes at a crucial growth stage for Avamore. 

“Earlier this year, we crossed £250m of lending and then subsequently reached £300m very quickly, which is a reflection of our commitment and dedication to delivering for our partners. 

“It is key that everyone we bring into the team demonstrates that same level of drive and tenacity, along with a can-do attitude. 

“Gili is a quick thinker with a solution driven lens, and I have no doubt that he’ll make a huge contribution to the Avamore team.”

United Trust Bank

United Trust Bank (UTB) has appointed Louise McIntosh as head of operations.

Louise — who has experience in business transformation within the sector and delivering new asset finance business operations systems — has worked in this market for over 15 years for various funders, including Aldermore Bank, ING and Amicus.

In hew new role, she will focus on leading the bank’s investment in the development and implementation of a new asset finance platform to accelerate deal turnaround times and broker pay-outs.

“This is an exciting time at UTB with Nathan [Mollett, head of asset finance] and the team developing their asset finance proposition and writing lots of new business,” she said.

“With an already strong customer focus and ambitious plans for the future, I am really looking forward to working with the team to develop a new platform supporting the bank’s growth and enhancing the end-to-end customer experience.”

Nathan added: “Earlier this year, we announced increased appetite for funding high-value cars and our plans to write larger transactions, and both these initiates have had an immediate impact.  

“We have completed more new business lending in the first six months of 2021 than we did in the whole of our previous record year.  

“Moving forward, it’s vital that we implement systems and processes which enable us to continue delivering a great service and broker experience, while completing increasing numbers of deals. 

“Louise brings a huge amount of hands-on business transformation experience and will work alongside me in ensuring the asset finance division is fit to support our ambitious growth plans.”

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