Blend appoints portfolio asset manager

By Bridging Loan Directory 5th December 2022

BLEND, the specialist development finance lender, has announced the appointment of credit specialist and portfolio manager Duncan Armstrong.

The arrival of Duncan, who joins from Secure Trust Bank and will be based in the firm’s London head office, will help BLEND further enhance its credit monitoring mechanisms, monitor the existing loan book, and provide ongoing support to borrowers through the loan lifecycle.

In this position, Duncan will work in close collaboration with the lending team headed by Managing Director David Alcock to drive strong performance across BLEND’s development finance portfolio.

The news comes at an exciting time for the business and follows BLEND’s recent appointment of Claire McGirr as Head of Portfolio Management.

Duncan joins BLEND with more than 25 years of industry experience working within the SME market, most recently as Credit Operations Manager in the development finance team at Secure Trust Bank.

Prior to that, he was a senior member of the portfolio management team at Pluto where he managed new and existing lending propositions and provided development finance and bridge lending solutions to UK-based property developers.

Before Pluto, Duncan was a Credit Risk Team Leader within the real estate development finance team at NatWest.

Duncan started his career at Lloyds Bank where he held various roles, primarily as business banking manager for the SME trading customers.

With BLEND, Duncan will be bringing his residential development portfolio management experience to bear across BLEND’s specialist development finance offering, and will also play a key role in research, analysis and development of new strategy and product ideas designed to complement Blend’s already robust product line-up.

David Alcock, MD at BLEND, commented:

“We are incredibly pleased to welcome Duncan to Blend and believe he will bring a wealth of experience to our portfolio management team.

He has an impressive track record working for over 25 years within the development finance market with some of the most prestigious firms in the sector.

BLEND was built to be home for incredibly talented and skilled property and finance professionals. Duncan personifies active portfolio management at its very best.”

Duncan Armstrong, Portfolio Asset Manager at BLEND, commented:

“I am excited to join David and the team at BLEND.

The CEO Yann has built a team with world class experienced people, technology infrastructure and flexible funding, but more importantly we have a shared belief that an active portfolio management process is required to be not just a lender, but a solution-focused lender as we at BLEND are.

I am enthusiastic about the opportunities in front of us, including our timing, and cannot wait to get started.”