Specialist finance lender Mint Property Finance has further strengthened its team with the appointment of Ian Jones and Mike Chatten.
Both join the business’s portfolio management team, a specialist department dedicated to overseeing the progress of every loan underwritten within the business, and an increasingly valuable resource to brokers and borrowers in a volatile market.
Bringing over 40 combined years’ mainstream banking and development expertise to the department, the duo are significant hires for the business.
Jones, a qualified Chartered Corporate Banker, joins from Arbuthnot Latham & Co, with over 15 years’ experience funding an array of residential projects from single ground-up developments to residential housing developments of up to 30 units.
Chatten, a qualified Chartered Institute Banker, boasts over 25 years’ relationship management expertise and joins from Barclays. He has also worked at Natwest and Co-op.
Both will report into credit risk manager, Peter Howarth, and work on the Portfolio Management Team’s Development arm.
Speaking on the appointments, founder and managing director of Mint Property Finance, Andrew Lazare, said: “When we moved into refurbishment products it didn’t take us long to identify that there are a number of key differences between Bridging and Development finance. What we also realised is that few specialist finance companies really understand it, so we brought in Pete from NatWest’s Property Investment division, to help us bolster our strengths in the sector.
“That was in 2017, and five years on I’m proud to say our Development and Bridging Portfolio Management Team is now one of the strongest in the market, boasting over 150 combined years’ expertise. The teams’ experience, working in banking environments where processes and procedures are incredibly tight, is invaluable and exactly the operating principles we apply to our loans, to ensure success.
“I’m really pleased to welcome Ian and Mike to the business. Both have impressive career histories in mainstream banking and specialist finance. They’re fantastic additions to the team and already making their mark.”