Chetwood Bank has appointed Darren Hodgson as its new business development manager (BDM) for the South of England. He brings more than 20 years of financial services experience to the role, with a strong background in mortgages following mortgage adviser and BDM roles at Santander and Nationwide. Hodgson is the latest addition to Chetwood’s team, supporting ModaMortgages and CHL Mortgages sales force. The firm said its combined setup gives BDMs the ability to help brokers place cases across both lenders’ product ranges, allowing them to provide more comprehensive support and find the most suitable solutions for intermediaries and their clients.

LHV Bank has promoted two members of its commercial lending team as it continues to build the structure needed to support growth in its SME lending business. Liam Grimes has been promoted from lending manager to senior portfolio manager, which is a newly created role. He joined LHV Bank in October 2024 and has played a role in supporting the growth of the bank’s lending activity. Jane Woodruff has also been promoted from lending operations manager to senior operations manager. She started at the bank in September 2024 and has helped strengthen operation processes as lending volumes have increased.

Tom Madden has been appointed as director at Mortimer Street Capital and Visionary Finance. He joins from LendInvest, where for over a decade, he held a number of senior leadership positions, latterly as director of structured finance and syndication. Prior to this, Madden spent 10 years in a fund management business where he led the commercial team. Mortimer Street Capital is a real estate debt advisory firm that specialises in arranging structured finance, development loans, bridging and commercial facilities. Visionary Finance is a FCA-authorised brokerage advising UK and international clients with their residential, buy-to-let and complex lending requirements.

---