Hampshire Trust Bank strengthens bridging underwriting team

Hampshire Trust Bank has strengthened its bridging finance underwriting team with four business development executives and two internal lending managers moving into underwriter roles.

Alex Klimcke, Olivia Colmer-Lynch, George Leaver and Ross Sheppard have moved from business development executive roles, alongside Ella Hosier and Raj Aggarwal from internal lending manager roles, into underwriter positions within the bridging finance team.

The move brings broker-facing experience directly into underwriting, reflecting how bridging is now being used as a proactive funding tool across different stages of an investment strategy. As cases become more structured, HTB says earlier underwriting input is playing a more central role in shaping how deals are progressed.

The move follows the recent appointment of Henry Manley Cooper as deputy managing director of HTB’s bridging finance division.

Henry Manley-Cooper said: “Bridging is rarely a single transaction now. Brokers are structuring funding across multiple stages of a client’s investment strategy, which makes early clarity and alignment critical. Bringing team members into underwriting who already understand how these cases are built in practice means those conversations start earlier and are grounded in how deals are actually delivered.”

Alex Upton, managing director and specialist mortgages and bridging finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, added: “Brokers need clarity, access and consistency when they are structuring more complex cases. Strengthening the underwriting team with people who already understand those conversations helps connect what is discussed upfront with how decisions are made.

“It means cases can be shaped earlier, with a clearer view of the full strategy, and handled with the context that comes from working closely with brokers and their clients every day. That’s where the difference really sits.”