SME lender, Allica Bank, has appointed Carly Nutkins as mortgage operations manager.

Nutkins (pictured) joins from Redwood Bank, and had over 12 years of banking and operational experience.

She is tasked with ensuring fast and effective processing of commercial mortgage applications submitted to Allica.

The bank also announced that it will be growing its business relationship management team by over 50% to help service the surge in demand from SMEs.

Nick Baker, head of intermediaries at Allica Bank, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Carly to the team, she will drive the ‘engine room’ of commercial mortgage processing – ensuring a smooth, hassle-free application process. We’re also excited to be expanding the team further and are on the hunt for more talent to join our award-winning broker team.

“We’ve worked tirelessly to rapidly scale up Allica’s operations and deliver lending to support the high levels of demand in the market, brought to us by our broker partners. [Our recent] three award wins are testament to the dedication and drive of the Allica team and all they’ve done to help businesses get the finance they need.”