West One Loans appoints George Patellis

By Bridging Loan Directory 24th July 2012

West One Loans, the UK’s largest privately funded bridging lender, has appointed George Patellis to head-up its distribution strategy.

Patellis, who has over 19 years of experience in senior management with Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, C-BASS and Washington Mutual, has been hired to develop more introducer relationships.

Commenting on the appointment, Duncan Kreeger, chairman of West One Loans said:

“George has an unrivalled track record in the industry. With his wealth of knowledge and experience, George will be able to unlock doors for us in the packager and distribution world that no one else can. He combines entrepreneurial flair and negotiation skills with a deep knowledge of the market. He’ll be an invaluable asset.

His appointment is also a testament to our ambition. The loan book has grown rapidly over the last 12 months, but we’re not content to rest on our laurels. We’re expanding and we want to maintain that momentum by cultivating new broker relationships and enhancing the distribution side of the business.”

Since 2006 Patellis has taken up various consulting roles, including a spell advising the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packers and two years working as chief executive officer at a start up lender in Australia. He was appointed chief executive officer at Tiuta in 2009 working there until 2011. Previously he had worked as operations director at Preferred for eight years before taking the managing director role in 2004. During his time as managing director with Preferred, Patellis helped increase monthly volumes from £250,000 to over £125 million.

George Patellis, Head of Strategy at West One Loans, said:

“The West One set-up is genuinely entrepreneurial. We have a motivated and ambitious group of people here who want to take the business to the next level. The daily buzz in the office is invigorating – the energy of the company is there for all to see. I’m looking forward to the challenge of developing new relationships and improving the distribution side of the business. With so many new entrants in the market, competition is fierce. Hopefully my experience and business development skills will give West One an extra edge.”

The High Court case involving West One Loans and investor Nick Clarke of Salkeld Investments Limited has been adjourned until September.