The team, based at the bank’s Manchester hub, will support local SMEs with their lending needs.
Recognise Bank is continuing to develop its regional offering in the North West and Yorkshire with the appointment of a new Business Development Manager, Paul Bagan, who joins the business with immediate effect.
Paul joins Recognise Bank with 16 years’ experience as a commercial banker, where he has supported SMEs through business development and relationship management roles. His last role was as a commercial finance broker with Empire Commercial Finance where he gained a wide knowledge of the UK lending market, understanding what commercial finance brokers and their clients want from banks.
The new appointment bolsters the North West and Yorkshire BDM team even further, reinforcing Recognise’s presence in the region. Paul joins three recently-added BDMs,Chris Stevens, Michael Doxford and Jonathan Kirk – who came on board last month. Along with BDM,Ian Fields, and Regional Director, James Meigh, Recognise is developing a strong regional hub designed to ensure its SME clients have access to a highly experienced and local team, helping business to regrow following the pandemic.
Opening for business in November 2020, Recognise Bank has already received more than £500 million worth of mortgage and loan enquiries and aims to provide more than £1.5 billion of business lending over the next five years.
Speaking about the new appointments, James Meigh, said: “We continue to add further quality resource to our North West and Yorkshire team, and Paul’s appointment ensures we have another highly-experienced individual who has operated in this region since he started his career with RBS in 2000.
“Paul has worked with business owners and real estate investors and is perfectly suited to developing these relationships and ensuring our adviser partners, and their SME clients, have access to our excellent SME-focused loan and mortgage products.”
Paul Bagan said: “I’m very pleased to be joining Recognise Bank and the very strong team that James is assembling here in the North West and Yorkshire. This has been my ‘patch’ for many years and I’m acutely aware of the needs of businesses in this area, and how a new bank like Recognise can provide the human touch and the personal element to these firms. That is much in need and I’m looking forward to helping SMEs bounce back after the pandemic and providing them with the finance they need to do so.”
The latest North West and Yorkshire appointment follows the recent announcement of three new Business Development Managers for Recognise Bank covering London and the Midlands, and two sector specialists covering professional practice and healthcare.
Recognise Bank provides lending to the UK’s SME sector, including Commercial Mortgages, Bridging Loans, Private Practice Loans and Working Capital Loans with professional buy-to-let mortgages to follow soon. In addition to its hub in Manchester, the bank has offices in London, Birmingham and Leeds. The network of Business Development Managers is backed up by the latest cloud-based technology to provide quick lending decisions and fast access to funds.
