Together appoints corporate portfolio director

Together has appointed an experienced banker to support and develop its corporate customer base across Yorkshire and The North.

Russell Oliver, who has more than two decades of experience in property and corporate finance, will be the Group’s representative in Yorkshire as the finance company continues to grow its £6.8bn loan book.

He joins from Santander, where he was senior director of real estate, responsible for a high value portfolio of clients, with a focus on client acquisition, relationship development and retention together with management of all aspects of risk.

Russell began his career in finance after joining the graduate scheme at Bank of Scotland in 1995. He went on to hold senior roles in leveraged finance and real estate prior to joining NAB in 2010.

Russell said: “After nearly 30 years of working in mainstream banking, I am looking forward to taking on a new challenge in helping Together expand across the corporate real estate market. Together takes a relationship-first approach to its customers, and this is a mentality I am keen to be a part of.

“Its flexible approach to lending means I’ll be able to support a wide range of businesses achieve their property ambitions in ways I perhaps wouldn’t have been able to do previously and I’m looking forward to introducing together to my network over the next couple of months.

Alex Garland, head of corporate lending and portfolio at Together, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Russell to the Together team. His reputation for his expert knowledge is known across the real estate finance market, and he will be a great asset to the company, helping Together grow across Yorkshire, and The North.

“Russell’s experience, combined with our values and vision as a relationship lender, will play a big part in building our presence across the corporate real estate market.

“Having only joined a few weeks ago, Russell has shown his dedication supporting our corporate team as we continue to work towards our goal of becoming the most valued lending company in the UK.”