Black & White Bridging has expanded its relationship team with the appointment of a new relationship manager, Sophie Ali, and the promotion of four existing members of staff.
Ali (pictured) joins from Bluecroft Finance, where she worked as business development executive, and Pepper Money UK, where she was broker account manager. In her new role, she will focus on onboarding new brokers to Black & White’s platform and ensuring they receive consistent service and support.
She said: “The Black & White team’s dedication to carving out real change in the sector by delivering a clear and transparent lending experience really stood out to me, and I’m looking forward to sharing that message with brokers.
“This is clearly a year of significant expansion for the relationship team, and I’m keen to help them continue to build on what they have started.”
PROMOTIONS
The lender has also promoted Mike Underwood and Shahed Popat to relationship director roles. Both joined the company earlier this year as relationship managers. Underwood now leads origination across the south coast and south-west, while Popat oversees the south-east and Home Counties.
Meanwhile, Dan Nathan has progressed from internal relationship manager to relationship manager, having joined Black & White as the inaugural member of its internal sales desk.
Ali’s appointment takes the company’s headcount to 32 and brings it closer to achieving its gender balance target of 50:50.
Damien Druce, chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, said: “Since bringing Mike, Shahed and Dan onboard earlier this year, our relationships with our brokers have gone from strength to strength.
“Mike and Shahed have worked hard to drive broker engagement in their respective geographical regions, and we’re reaching more brokers, and therefore more clients, than ever.
“Dan’s promotion highlights his crucial role onboarding new brokers and delivering exceptional levels of service to Black & White’s existing brokers. They thoroughly deserve this recognition for all their hard work.
“The addition of Sophie to the team highlights the company’s ongoing growth and commitment to providing the very best customer service. She will provide more resource and ensure we’re able to build long-lasting relationships with brokers, delivering the high level of service we are known for.
“In an industry traditionally dominated by men, it’s great to see our gender balance now at 40:60, and we’re committed to pushing that number closer to 50:50 as we grow over time.”
Elsewhere within the business, the firm has promoted its longest-serving employee, Sophie Organ, from finance assistant to assistant accountant, recognising her work managing post-completion finance and compliance tasks.
