Appointments aim to enhance its lending capabilities and drive growth in the UK market
LHV Bank has expanded its lending team with the appointment of three new lending directors – Lee Albino, George Chipperfield, and Sadiq Patel, as part of the bank’s strategy to strengthen its lending capabilities.
Albino (pictured left) joins LHV’s Manchester office with 15 years of industry experience, including 10 years at Shawbrook Bank, where he contributed to the bank’s growth in the property sector. He has expertise in working with intermediaries and customers on property transactions and building business relationships.
Chipperfield (pictured centre) brings nearly a decade of real estate finance experience, having worked at Metro Bank, LendInvest, Monument, and Cynergy Bank. His focus has been on real estate investment and development finance.
Patel (pictured right), with 22 years of banking experience, has held positions at Barclays, Clydesdale Bank, and Metro Bank. He has managed large loan portfolios, specialising in trading businesses, real estate lending, and the charity and pension sectors.
LHV Bank provides commercial real estate investment and trading loans starting at £0.5 million to small and medium-sized businesses across the UK. The bank is now expanding its services to target the specialist buy-to-let market. Having secured its UK banking licence in May 2023, LHV reported a profit after tax of £6.4 million in its first year of operation.
“Riding the wave of our successful 2024, we believe this is the perfect time to bolster our SME lending division by welcoming Lee, George, and Sadiq to the team,” said Conor McDermott, director of SME lending at LHV Bank.
“These new appointments demonstrate LHV’s commitment to attracting leading industry talent and strengthen our aim of becoming a major provider of commercial real estate investment loans and trading loans to SMEs throughout the UK.”
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