You are here: cherry > Press releases for June 2016 > Shawbrook Bank combine Commercial & Secured into ‘Property Finance division’

30 June 2016

Shawbrook Bank has brought together the Commercial and Secured lending divisions into a combined Property Finance business. The new division will sit alongside the Bank’s other customer facing divisional businesses of Consumer and Business Finance, helping to simplify the presentation of the Bank’s business to all stakeholders, as well as assisting in the prioritisation and allocation of its resources.

 Stephen Johnson, Deputy CEO of Shawbrook Bank will lead the newly formed Property Finance division. Philip George will continue to sit on the Board and Executive Committee and develop new opportunities for the bank across all lending divisions. The Property Finance division will continue to pursue the strategy that has served it so successfully, building a diversified business serving specialised segments of the mortgage market where service, relationships, and pragmatic management of risk can continue to prosper.

Commenting on the move, Johnson explained;

“Shawbrook Bank has a very clear vision for the future and we are excited about the role a combined Property Finance business plays in delivering the Bank’s ambition. Both teams have a rich heritage and I feel are amongst the most highly regarded in their markets. It is my privilege to work with such a committed and passionate group of people and we look forward with great enthusiasm to continuing to serve our customers and business partners.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Philip for his leadership of the secured business. Whilst we will continue to benefit from his involvement, it is absolutely right to acknowledge what a fantastic job he has done in building such a successful secured business”.

As we move to a single Property Finance division, Maeve Ward and Karen Bennett will lead our proposition, design and strategy in the residential mortgage and commercial mortgage markets respectively. The Residential Mortgages team includes our market leading secured lending business and as we move forward, other specialist areas of first charge residential mortgages. The Commercial Mortgages team will continue to serve the specialist buy-to-let, short term loan and commercial mortgage segments. In their new roles as Managing Directors they will retain responsibility for product, distribution and sales teams alongside overall strategy within their respective markets.

Commenting on the move, Maeve Ward, Managing Director, Residential Mortgages;

“I am immensely proud to take on this responsibility at an exciting time within the residential mortgages space. I have worked with Stephen and Karen extensively over the last five years and relish the challenges ahead as we seek to build and grow alongside our business partners. We have a fantastic team within the Residential Mortgages business and I look forward to the natural benefits of working closely and collaboratively as part of a wider Property Finance division”.

Karen Bennett, Managing Director, Commercial Mortgages commented:

“Along with Maeve and her team, we have experienced a great deal of success over the past five years and I look forward to the next step in our evolution as the Shawbrook Bank Property Finance division. Brokers lie at the heart of our business and the prospect of continuing to build a business around our principles of personal relationships, great service and a desire to constantly improve is hugely exciting for this group.” 

Stephen Johnson summarises as follows:

“We absolutely acknowledge that our business partners operate in markets, notwithstanding last week’s historic vote, where there are a wide range of lenders to choose from. At Shawbrook we are driven by the philosophy of building long term relationships with our business partners and working with them to deliver a great and sustainable service to their customers. This approach has served us well and our vision for Property Finance retains its unwavering commitment to the intermediary market. I am extremely grateful to Philip for his leadership and wish to congratulate Maeve and Karen as well as the rest of the team on their new roles”.