Co-op moves Britannia’s property finance team north

THE CO-OPERATIVE Bank has announced that it is to merge Britannia Building Society’s property finance team at Stoke-on-Trent into its own operations at its Balloon Street headquarters in central Manchester.

The newly-merged team will have a total of 26 people, including 11 relationship managers, looking after a commercial property loan book whose value is estimated to be worth more than £5bn.

Chris Wilson, the bank’s head of real estate and public sector operations, said: “This is a really positive move and Manchester is now home to one of the UK’s leading specialist property finance teams under the stewardship of Phil Basten.

“The Britannia team brings with it an excellent portfolio of customers who will benefit further from a full relationship management service.

“The bank’s outstanding performance during the credit crisis leaves it well placed to continue lending to experienced property players with strong portfolios.”