Santander strengthens property team as it looks to lend

SANTANDER Corporate Banking has made two new appointments to its Real Estate Finance team in Yorkshire.

Experienced property specialists James Espley and Richard Thomas will support businesses across the region and will be based at the bank’s regional corporate banking centres in Hull, Leeds and Sheffield.

The pair join the bank as relationship directors, working alongside James Meigh in the Real Estate team, and will report to Neil Williams, regional director, Yorkshire.

Spanish banking group Santander owns the Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and part of the Bradford & Bingley banks in the UK.

Mr Espley has 18 years’ experience in the banking sector primarily with Barclays Bank, and for the past five years’ has focussed on property finance.

Mr Thomas joins Santander Corporate Banking from RBS NatWest and brings 21 years’ banking experience to his new role.

He has 15 years’ corporate banking experience and for the last nine years’ has focused on the property finance sector, undertaking transactions predominantly in Yorkshire and the North East.

Commenting on the new appointments, Mr Williams, regional director for Yorkshire, said: “Both James and Richard bring a wealth of regional real estate finance experience to their new roles and these appointments highlight Santander’s commitment to the real estate sector in Yorkshire.

“The bank has a clear strategy of building its presence in the UK corporate banking market and recently announced that it had increased the level of lending to businesses by more than ten per cent in the first six months of 2009.”

He added: “We are keen to support well run, viable businesses in Yorkshire and aim to become the bank of choice. In order to achieve this, we are recruiting experienced specialists such as James and Richard, who will play key roles in ensuring the bank’s future success.”