Assetz Capital appoints South East relationship director
Former peer-to-peer lender Assetz Capital has appointed Richard Martin as a regional relationship director in the South East.
Martin was previously at property finance specialist Leumi UK for 12 years, where he was a relationship director focused on specialist sectors such as care, student living, retirement, and traditional residential and commercial property projects.
He has supported numerous large-scale developments in the various specialist sectors with values of up to £35m.
Assetz decided to exit the retail market in December after restricting withdrawals from its access accounts when they outpaced new investment. The specialist lender will run off its retail investment loan book over the next five years, as it pivots to an institutional-only platform.
Read more: Assetz co-founder to launch new SME lending platform
Martin has been working in finance and property funding for more than 25 years, with a background in corporate banking, stretching across numerous roles in 12 years of service for the Lloyds Banking Group prior to his stint at Leumi, which is a subsidiary of Israeli Bank Leumi.
“We’re delighted to have Richard on board”, said managing director Andrew Charnley, commenting on the appointment. “His CV boasts some ‘best in class’ experience across the various sectors within specialist finance that we are keen to increase funding in, such as healthcare, and his addition to the team will be welcomed across the business”.
Read more: Assetz restricts withdrawals and pauses new lending from access accounts
Martin added: “I’m delighted to be joining Assetz Capital as a relationship director, while I will be primarily working across the southeast, Thames Valley and Home Counties, we have the breadth of coverage to support clients across the UK.
“This is an exciting time in the company’s growth, with the strong backing of our institutional partners, as we continue to support borrowers with our ‘real world lending’ solutions.”
Assetz Capital has ambitious growth plans for the next few years, as it pivots away from its traditional retail lender base to a solely intuitional investment model.