Assetz Capital, a Manchester-based peer-to-peer small business lender, is bringing on a top banking broker as a relationship director, reports Altfi.
That director is Chris Mason, and his goal is to bring in additional business to the platform. He’ll do so by interacting with stockbrokers in the real estate space, both parties working to increase development finance, property investment, commercial mortgages, and bridging loans, the publication reports. Mason will oversee the East Midlands, London, and East Anglia offices.
The new director has worked within the banking sphere for close to 40 years now, with his last 20 spent jumping around Barclays. From there, the man went to a business director position working in property finance at the Bank of Scotland, and then starting doing corporate banking within Handelsbanken, a German company.
Speaking on the matter is Mason himself, claiming:
“I am particularly keen to have the chance to help property developers and investors to realise their growth potential. My new role will allow me to have much greater flexibility when considering funding requests in comparison to the more traditional lenders.”
Stuart Law, founder and CEO of Assetz Capital, also made some points:
“Chris has spent many years working in the industry, and his experience in the commercial lending space will have a huge impact on our deal origination in the South, supporting customers with specific finance needs through their funding journey.”
In July, the company claimed that it helped with 60% more loans in the last year than it did in the last five put together. Having only been founded seven years ago, the lending company put out £820m in its entire lifetime.
Overall, in the past year, Assetz Capital assisted in the building of 1,706 homes – a result of 147 development finance deals and totaling around £170m. This translates over to 1 in 100 of all homes built in the UK at this time.
