SDKA expands team with four new hires

By Bridging Loan Directory 12th May 2023

Following a successful recruitment campaign this year, SDKA have appointed four team members as they continue to grow.

The latest additions to the team include expansion of the underwriting department with the appointment of Gemma Carson, and Alex Swan as underwriters.

Joining from a peer to peer lending company, Gemma has a wealth of experience in finance with a career spanning over 17 years, having most recently worked with clients requiring commercial, development and bridging finance.

Alex joins SDKA from a development lender where he undertook a graduate underwriting role. This role puts him in good stead for the fast pace of underwriting at SDKA.

Both Gemma and Alex will be responsible for working alongside not only brokers and clients but also professionals such as surveyors and legal teams to ensure a speedy completion.

Their appointments ensure that the service levels that brokers expect will be met, with fast efficient decision making by the team.

Gemma commented:

“I really liked the opportunity that SDKA offered me; a new role with new challenges!

Having worked in fast paced lending for the past 6 years I feel I can hit the ground running and get to work on the busy pipeline of deals.”

Alex added:

“I am looking forward to excelling at my role at SDKA, who are providing the opportunity for me to learn and practice a wider field of lending.

I am keen to underwrite with practical reasoning.”

SDKA have now also appointed Geoff Longden as portfolio manager.

Geoff brings knowledge of corporate lending from a long career with a mainstream lender and more recently portfolio management, having undertaken the role at another specialist lender last year.

Geoff will be responsible for maintaining relationships with clients throughout the term of the loan and managing conditions of the facility.

Geoff adds:

“I was thrilled to hear that SDKA were hiring a portfolio manager, as a growing bridging lender with an amazing reputation it’s a great place to build on my career with my goal to become a senior member of the team.”

Finally, a finance role has been created for Soorya Pillai. With a background in accounting Soorya is well placed to support the management team with growth plans and take control of producing analytical data.

Collectively these new appointments inject additional knowledge to SDKA and allow the management team to focus on driving the goal of growing the company and doubling the loan book for another consecutive year.

SDKA remain focused on customer service being the backbone of the company, ensuring that any new recruits have that passion for offering great service and going above and beyond.

Kunal Mehta, Managing Director at SDKA, said:

“I am excited by the recent appointments that we have made at SDKA, not only have we recruited experience we have managed to secure people with a passion for delivery which is what SDKA is all about.

We have a strong underwriting team in preparation for the influx of deals coming in, and by recruiting a portfolio manager this defines roles and allows Geoff to focus purely on post completion service whilst the underwriters work on getting the deal across the line.’’

I am delighted to welcome Gemma, Geoff, Alex and Soorya to the team, a very exciting time for SDKA.”