Charles Street expands relations and retentions team with two new hires

Commercial lender, Charles Street Finance, has appointed two new members of staff as it aims to grow its loan book to £1 billion.

The sister company of Together, Charles Street has announced Thomas Ratcliffe and Louise Ward have been appointed as relations manager and customer retentions manager respectively.

Thomas joins Charles Street from his North West-based family development and investment business, Ratcliffe Property Group (RPG). He will be managing client relationships for Charles Street, supporting brokers, investors and developers.

Louise brings finance experience to her new role, having previously worked for HSBC as a personal banker and for specialist distributer 3MC as an underwriting manager.

Charles Street, which provides bridging and development loans, and commercial, semi-commercial and buy-to-let mortgages, has also expanded into new premises at Cheadle Royal Business Park, Stockport.

Thomas Ratcliffe said: “I’ve been passionate about property since leaving school, having worked for estate agents and property groups, as well as in the family business, developing residential property.

“In my new role, I will predominantly provide bridging loans for acquisition and, working with our development team, providing development exit loans, as well as longer term commercial finance. At Charles Street, we pride ourselves on the flexibility of our products and how quickly we can provide the clear, pragmatic funding solutions our broker partners and clients are looking for.

“It’s a really great opportunity to be able to join the company at an exciting time of growth and I’m looking forward to using my background in property to provide a fresh approach.” 

Louise Ward commented: “At Charles Street, I will be working with all different functions and stakeholders across the business in a really interesting role, involving further supporting existing clients with short or longer term finance and providing the right solutions for them.

“I’m joining an amazing and dedicated team as we move into our new headquarters – we’re already feeling like a family.”

Carl Graham, corporate relationship director at Charles Street, said: “The new office is part of our continued growth and allows us to further expand our business. We’re continuing to invest in young talent from the local community. We are massive advocates of graduates and apprentices

“The professional setting means that we can offer an open door policy for potential customers; brokers, introducers and other professionals, to come to hot desk from our new offices. It will allow us to showcase the workspace and further embed our client relationships.”