Pallas Capital appoints new head of credit risk

Pallas Capital has appointed Darren Rix (pictured above) as head of credit risk.

Darren joins the UK management team with immediate effect, bringing 37 years of banking experience to the role.

The lender said his appointment follows sustained growth in the UK team and lending pipeline, creating the need for a dedicated senior credit risk function.

Darren will oversee the firm's applications process, credit papers and lending decisions.

He spent 28 years in retail banking focused on corporate real estate and credit risk, holding senior roles at Barclays, Bank of Scotland and Santander.

Darren went on to lead a special project covering mixed real estate assets for a private equity firm, before serving as head of credit at two start-up non-bank lenders, both focused on development finance.

Most recently, he was head of real estate credit risk at Hampshire Trust Bank.

Commenting on his appointment, Darren said: "Having worked through the financial crash and several cycles since, I know what disciplined credit risk looks like when markets get difficult, and what it takes to back the right developers through them.

“Pallas Capital has real ambition, and this is a fresh challenge for me.

“I want to help build the business into a formidable lender and the go-to name in our market.”

“We're increasingly seeing a slight shift away from main contractors, given a number of failures in that space, towards developers who self-deliver through construction management, with loyal labour pools, reliable suppliers and better process control.

“That’s exactly the kind of borrower Pallas Capital is built to support.”

Uliana Kuzmis, chief credit officer at Pallas Capital, said: “Darren is one of the strongest credit professionals I have ever come across.

“His experience spans multiple cycles and covers exactly the segment of the market we focus on: bridging for experienced borrowers and development finance for SME and mid-level developers.

“Darren’s appointment reflects the scale our UK team and pipeline have reached, and the importance we place on maintaining rigorous credit standards together with speed and efficiency as we grow.”