Octopus Property appoints Paula Purdy as Business Development Manager

By Bridging Loan Directory 10th October 2018

Specialist property lender Octopus Property, part of the Octopus Group, announces the appointment of Paula Purdy as Business Development Manager (“BDM”), North of England, reporting directly to D’mitri Zaprzala, Head of Sales.

Paula’s appointment follows on from the three regional BDM hires announced last month, with representatives now established across the UK. These hires demonstrate Octopus Property’s confidence in the state of the regional property market, as it looks to grow its intermediary and direct client network across the UK’s major regional hubs.

Paula brings over 17 years of residential, commercial, buy-to-let and bridging lending experience. She joins Octopus Property from Shawbrook Bank, where she was Head of Sales, Residential Mortgages, increasing business and raising Shawbrook’s profile amongst intermediaries.

Paula will be responsible for deepening existing relationships with introducers, alongside building new ones, in and around major North of England cities including Chester, Liverpool, Crewe and Warrington, leveraging Octopus Property’s comprehensive residential, commercial and development product range.

Since the start of 2018 Octopus Property has added 26 new employees, supporting the growth of the loan book to over £800m. Recent regional deals include four commercial property loans, totalling £35m, across Birmingham, Edinburgh, Derby and Manchester and a £20m development loan in Edinburgh.

D’mitri Zaprzala, Head of Sales at Octopus Property, commented:

“Paula has built a reputation as one of the industry’s most successful and respected sales managers and her appointment is a significant coup for Octopus Property, and a strong endorsement of our regional strategy. The roll out of our regional offering continues to gather pace, aligned with the growing demand from developers and investors outside of London and the South East. Paula’s knowledge and experience operating across the North of England will further enhance our proposition, as we look to replicate in the regions the success we have achieved over nearly 10 years.”

Paula Purdy, pictured, added:

“Joining Octopus Property represents a hugely exciting challenge for me, at what is a pivotal time for the industry. Being able to offer a local service, along with the breadth of Octopus’ offering and the support of the wider Octopus Group, meant it was an easy decision and I look forward to helping the talented team meet its ambition of being the UK’s number one specialist property lender.”