Assetz Capital has announced that Mark Roberts has joined the business to lead the growth of its development finance arm.

While his role is national, Roberts’ remit will also focus on the expanding North West market, enabling Assetz Capital to build on its £232m of lending already secured in the region.

Roberts (pictured) joins Assetz Capital from LDS Sales Guarantees, where he was also relationship director. He rejoins the business having previously been a relationship director at Assetz Capital for over three years.

Andrew Charnley, Assetz Capital’s managing director, said: “The North West remains a core market for Assetz Capital given our location and long standing commitment to house building. With the ongoing demand for housing nationally and in the North West not being met, with over 21,000 homes stuck in planning, it is important that we play our part in the cycle by providing access to liquidity for SME developers at the pace and reliability they deserve. We want to play our part to enable housing targets to be hit.

“We are delighted to have re-appointed Mark and welcome him back to the team. As a proven leader in the development finance space, his expertise and market knowledge will enable us to continue to grow our footprint both nationally and in the North West, as we look to hit our £300m lending milestone in the North West.”

Roberts added: “It is great to be back at Assetz where I can use my expertise to sculpt development deals in a way that suits both borrowers and brokers’ needs. With the depth of liquidity and experience within the  Assetz team, this is an exciting time to be back with the business to help grow our development book further.”