Blend Network, the specialist development finance lender, has brought in Ian Granger as senior lending manager to lead the South West and Wales lending operations based in Bristol.
The appointment is a step further in BLEND’s regional lending expansion. It follows its recent hire of Philip Anderson to lead Northern Ireland lending operations based in Belfast, and of Chris Mason to lead mid-country lending operations based in Cambridgeshire.
Blend has been an active lender in the Greater Bristol area over the past two years with current projects including a £2.3m GDV residential scheme of 9 flats in Bristol.
Granger’s appointment signals Blend’s strong commitment to the Bristol market following the market strength witnessed over the past 12 months.
The arrival of Granger will help Blend deploy a large pool of funding recently committed by several family offices and a group of prominent investors.
The news comes at an exciting time for the business and follows Blend’s recent completion of an equity funding round led by several notable family offices and experienced investors who also committed funding to deploy across the UK residential market. BLEND will offer up to 70% LTGDV on development finance and bridging loans in the South West and Wales.
Granger has over 35 years of experience in banking, finance, and real estate. His most recent position was as a business development manager at Premier Guarantee where he provided structural warranties and building control for local, regional and national developers, contractors, local authorities and housing associations covering the South West and South Wales.
His extensive banking, finance and real estate career includes roles as property development finance regional manager at RateSetter, as well as roles within the commercial SME market team at HSBC and Davenham.
Yann Murciano, CEO at Blend Network, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ian to our growing lending team. Ian has a breadth and depth of experience across the real estate and finance sectors, as well as extensive regional expertise in the South West and Wales, which will significantly help us scale our loan book in those regions.
“Ian’s appointment will allow us to expand our presence on the ground in the South West and Wales, helping to deploy our capital in those buoyant regions in line with the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.”
Granger added: “I am very pleased to be joining Blend at such an exciting time. BLEND is a dynamic and forward-thinking organisation with a strong appetite to offer development finance to experienced developers.
“While there are a number of factors that continue to hinder the supply of new housing stock coming to the market, I am hopeful that by increasing the availability of development finance it will go some way to increase the supply of new homes in the South West and Wales. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you wish to discuss any lending opportunities”.
