Simon joins as relationship director and is tasked with expanding the bank’s lending to SMEs in the North West and surrounding regions.

In his 20+ years with Close Brothers, he was a director within its property finance team and developed specialist expertise regarding student accommodation and BTR projects.

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“Simon brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the development finance market, having worked with developers across a range of sectors,” said Neal Moy, managing director at Paragon Development Finance.

“His knowledge, relationships and track record will be invaluable as we look to support more developers nationwide and expand our loan book.”

Simon added: “For me, it was an opportunity to join a respected lender that is actively looking to increase its loan book, expand into new regions, whilst continuing to support developers through a challenging market.

“I’m looking forward to helping Paragon achieve these targets.”