LendInvest hires first Head of Credit

Roy will be responsible for building out LendInvest’s risk infrastructure to ensure that robust systems and controls are in place, protecting both the business and its investors. Roy will also liaise closely with the company’s key stakeholders including institutions, regulators and ratings agencies.

Roy brings to the company almost 40 years’ mortgage and retail financial services experience. Most recently, Roy spent 14 years at Kensington Mortgages/Investec where he specialised in risk and compliance. As Head of Risk, Compliance and Financial Crime, Roy oversaw a full rebuild of the credit risk and underwriting framework when Kensington was one of the first specialist mortgage lenders to re-enter the post-credit crisis mortgage market.

Earlier in his career, Roy spent 23 years with Halifax in a number of mortgage and retail financial services roles, culminating as Area Manager for Bristol. After two years working for JP Morgan, Roy joined Kensington Mortgages who were subsequently purchased by Investec in 2007. Roy is a Fellow of the Chartered Bankers Institute, CeMAP and CeRGI.

LendInvest, which spun out of Montello in 2013, has originated close to £400 million of loans for UK property entrepreneurs seeking finance deals lasting between one month and three years.

Christian Faes, Co-Founder & CEO of LendInvest, commented:

“With his wealth of experience and his enthusiasm to help build a nimble, fast-growing company like LendInvest, I am delighted that Roy is joining us. Under his leadership, our risk & underwriting team can develop the sort of market-leading checks and balances that our customers and creditors expect from us.

“Dedicated credit oversight became more important than ever when we received the P2P industry’s first credit rating this summer. The demand for clear credit controls will only increase as we seek more recognised ratings in the coming months.”

Roy Armitage, Head of Credit, added:

“LendInvest does things in a more innovative way than traditional mortgage lenders, but at its core are sound mortgage lending processes and procedures.”