Aspen Bridging expands risk, underwriting and credit teams

Aspen Bridging has announced a raft of promotions across its risk, underwriting and credit teams.

Wayne Hicklin is now risk director, which brings together all the main elements from his time in the business since 2016 which has included heading up the underwriting, recoveries, and most recently the risk teams.

Wayne has over 25 years’ experience in specialist finance and currently leads the internal monitoring of heavy works cases at Aspen.

Saif Khalique has taken the head of underwriting position, which will see him oversee all aspects of running the dynamic underwriting team including day-to-day management, strategic contribution and training.

He joined Aspen in 2019 as graduate underwriter and has steadily been promoted within the department whilst completing his Real Estate Msc.

Aqib Iqbal, who joined the lender in 2021 and is becoming Assoc RICS accredited this year, has been promoted to credit manager having previously been senior credit analyst.

Moving into the senior credit analyst position is Sinead McMurray, while Richard Tweddle becomes senior underwriter. Both joined the business as graduate underwriters in 2022.

Aspen currently has 25 full-time staff, many of whom joined through the lender’s graduate recruitment scheme to support the business’s 'one-person-per-case' philosophy.

Jack Coombs, managing director at Aspen Bridging, said: “The business has successfully grown these last few years which resulted in us recently surpassing the £500m lending landmark from when the business was founded in 2017.

“As we look upwards to £1bn worth of lending, which we are looking to realise in the next couple of years, we have to invest in the business and our core teams. These promotions are all well-deserved and we are excited about the positive contribution they will make to the business going forwards.”