In his new role, he will act as a liaison between UTB’s property development and structured property finance divisions to grow originations and increase awareness of the bank among intermediaries.

He will also focus on developing relationships with brokers and intermediaries who work with SME housebuilders, developers, and property investor clients across England and Wales.

Piragash brings more than 20 years of property finance experience to the role, having previously held director positions at NatWest and Lloyds.

He joins UTB from Totum Finance, which he founded in 2015 after his stint at NatWest.

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Adam Bovingdon, head of property development at UTB, said: “Piragash brings a huge amount of experience from both sides of the real estate finance industry, and the property development and structured property finance teams will benefit from his focus on building our intermediary relationships.”

Piragash added: “UTB is a long established and well-funded retail bank wholly committed to supporting housebuilders, developers and real estate investors.

“It appreciates the value intermediaries add when helping their clients source property finance for development and investment activities.

“Now, with economic and political uncertainty the highest it has been for over a decade, UTB believes that by increasing and strengthening ties with experienced advisors, there are opportunities to create relationships which will endure the ups and downs of the economic cycle."