Ashman, the new entrant bank, has appointed Neil Molyneux as Senior Relationship Director.

Molyneux will initially be leading the team responsible for originating new lending and building the broker panel. This will initially include bridging, with plans to introduce buy-to-let, commercial mortgages and property development, servicing the lending needs of the commercial real estate sector, defining products and delivering them to the marketplace.

Molyneux joins from Masthaven Bank, where he led teams in business development, account management and product design across bridging and development finance for nearly 10 years. He was most recently Head of Sales Short Term Lending and Development.

Molyneux brings more than 30 years’ experience in banking, real estate and wider financial services to Ashman. In addition to his almost decade with Masthaven, Molyneux has held roles at Cheval Bridging Finance, Sequence, Forces Financial, Swift Group, Lehman Brothers, and Advance Finance Group.

Ashman was awarded its UK banking licence (Authorised with Restrictions or ‘AwR’) in June, the first banking licence awarded this year, which means it has been authorised and regulated to trade with restrictions by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The Bank is moving towards its launch as quickly as possible, subject to a regulatory timeline and approval.

Commenting on his appointment, Neil Molyneux said: “So much of what Ashman is seeking to achieve resonates with me, most notably to provide a better solution to SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) who continue to struggle to get the funding and service they deserve. I am delighted to be playing a part in turning Ashman’s vision into reality and I very much look forward to working with like-minded intermediaries who also share a passion for delivering a better lending experience.”

Caroline Luxmore, Chief Commercial Officer, at Ashman Bank, said: “Client relationships are fundamental to what we are doing at Ashman, so attracting someone of Neil’s calibre and experience is hugely exciting. His knowledge and experience in the SME market will be invaluable as we move towards our full launch. We are delighted to have Neil with us and look forward to seeing what he can help us build in the coming years.”

Headquartered in Birmingham, Ashman is initially focused on lending to SMEs in the commercial real estate sector, while providing savers with competitive rates. Ashman will lend on deals from £100k to £5 million and plans to transform the banking experience for property SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), a £90bn market opportunity.