Octopus Property boosts commercial lending team

By Bridging Loan Directory 8th September 2017

Octopus Property (OP) is pleased to announce the appointments of Nick Westoby and James Nunn, pictured, to the role of Fund Manager within its commercial team. With a combined 26 years’ experience working in the real estate finance sector, Nick and James will be responsible for supporting the growth of OP’s commercial lending portfolio, managing both institutional and retail capital on behalf of Octopus Group.

Both qualified Chartered Surveyors, Nick joins OP from Hatfield Philips International, where he was Senior VP responsible for managing a £650 million loan book and underwriting £5.5bn of pan-European portfolios. James was previously an Associate at D2 Private, responsible for investment management and business development of a £300m pan-European property investment fund.

These most recent senior appointments demonstrate OP’s continued growth ambition and support the company’s commitment to the commercial property sector, following the successful deployment of the company’s first institutionally raised Commercial Real Estate Debt Fund (CREDF) over the last three years.

Other significant recent hires to the OP team include Nick McAuliffe as Chief Operating Officer, Holly Harvey as Head of Marketing and Matt Foley as a Credit Manager in the Residential Development team.

Ludo Mackenzie, Head of Commercial Property at Octopus Property, commented:

“I strongly believe in building a team which has direct experience as investors and developers, rather than pure banking. We want people who genuinely understand real estate and as a consequence, can make more informed decisions. In this way, we are a business that can look at every deal on its merits and empathise with our clients.”

Mario Berti, CEO of Octopus Property, added:

“This is an exciting time for the company, and with the support of the wider Octopus Group, we look forward to further cementing our position as a market leader in the provision of specialist finance.”

Since launching in February 2009, OP has seen significant headcount growth and achieved impressive loan book growth, completing over £2.6 billion of lending across 2,500 loans. It lends across the commercial, residential and development markets.