Barry Searle, Castle Trust’s chief operating officer (COO), is to become its new managing director (mortgages).

Searle (pictured) has been with Castle Trust since 2014, has held the largest underwriting mandate and had overall responsibility for operations. During his career he has held senior roles at various institutions including Legal and General’s mortgage division and GMAC-RFC.

In addition, Stuart Sykes is joining Castle Trust as operations director from MyJar, where he has been group customer operations director for the last four years. He has previously held roles at ICICI Bank, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group.

Martin Bischoff, Castle Trust’s chief executive officer (CEO), said: “As the company’s COO, Barry is already very familiar with both the industry and the aims of the business and was a natural choice to fill the role. He has contributed enormously to the success of the business so far and will be a pivotal part of our transition to become a bank.

“Stuart has extensive experience in the lending environment, particularly in consumer finance. We are delighted that he has chosen to join us as we move into Castle Trust’s next phase.”