UTB promotes Gene Clohessy to director – BTL and bridging
Clohessy joined UTB in July 2025 as director of underwriting – bridging and has 20 years’ banking and real estate finance experience, including senior roles at LendInvest and Shawbrook Bank.
United Trust Bank (UTB) has promoted Gene Clohessy (pictured) to director – BTL and bridging, giving her responsibility for the sales and underwriting functions across both product areas.
Clohessy joined UTB in July 2025 as director of underwriting – bridging and has 20 years’ banking and real estate finance experience, including senior roles at LendInvest and Shawbrook Bank.
Since joining UTB she has played a key role in developing the bank’s bridging credit strategy, strengthening links between brokers and underwriting and supporting the continued evolution of its proposition.
Her expanded role brings sales and underwriting together under one director.
In light of Clohessy’s promotion, UTB is also recruiting a head of underwriting for BTL and bridging as well as a new sales director dedicated to BTL and bridging, who will support and develop the existing sales team led by head of sales Bradley Illman and further strengthen the bank’s broker coverage.
Buster Tolfree, managing director of mortgages, BTL and bridging at United Trust Bank, said: “Gene is an experienced specialist finance professional and excellent leader, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to fill this important role by promoting from within.
“She has extensive knowledge and experience across the Bridging and BTL markets, understands what brokers need from a specialist lender and shares our determination to combine great technology with fast decisions and genuinely personal service.
“Although Gene has been with UTB for little more than a year, the impact she has made in that time has been tremendous.
“I’d also like to thank Andrew Ferguson who helped us navigate the merging of the Mortgages, BTL & Bridging divisions and has now left the business following this restructure. We wish him well for the future.”
He added: “There’s a lot happening across BTL and Bridging at UTB. The new Bridging Portal is already having a real impact, we’ve got further significant proposition enhancements coming over the next few weeks and we’re investing in roles across the team to support our growth ambitions.
“Gene is the perfect person to lead the next stage of our journey.”
Clohessy said: “It’s a really exciting time to be taking on this role. We’ve recently launched the new Bridging Portal, made significant changes to our BTL criteria and processes and there’s an absolute stack of further improvements just around the corner.
“Aligning Sales and Underwriting more closely puts us in a strong position to deliver an even better experience for brokers.
“By using technology to reduce manual tasks and accelerate routine processes, we can free up our teams to focus on adding real value through meaningful broker conversations, deeper case understanding, and informed credit decisions.
“I’m incredibly excited about the opportunities ahead and what we can accomplish together.”
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