Lenvi has expanded its specialist standby servicing team by 50% this year after a rise in demand across several asset classes.

The lending software provider has appointed Catherine Foan as head of standby operations and Stacey Chambers as standby invocation and testing manager.

Foan joins after almost 30 years at Principality Building Society, where she spent much of her career leading operational incident management.

Chambers returns to Lenvi following a previous 10-year spell at the company. She has also spent eight years at HML and has experience in loan management software.

The appointments form part of Lenvi’s investment in its standby servicing business. The company said it had been appointed to more than 50 new deals during the past 12 months, covering more than £7 billion of new funding.

Lenvi now protects more than £48 billion of loan assets across more than 200 funding lines and describes itself as Europe’s largest standby servicing provider.

Recent appointments as a back-up service provider include Funding Circle, the London-listed small business finance platform, auto finance provider Billing Finance and personal loans provider Abound.

Lenvi has also handled several invocations this year, including insolvency, non-insolvency and complex cases. It said these had demonstrated its ability to operate within agreed timescales in real-world scenarios.

The company recently launched a forensic invocation testing service, which allows clients to rehearse a realistic scenario using the processes that would apply during a live event. The service is intended to give investors greater visibility of operational readiness.

Owain Chambers, director of capital markets at Lenvi, said: “We’re continuing to invest in the people, expertise and capability needed to support the growing demand for standby servicing.

“Catherine and Stacey bring significant operational experience that will further strengthen our offering and help shape the next phase of growth.

“As the market continues to evolve, lenders and investors increasingly recognise the importance of appointing a standby servicer with proven operational experience.

“Unlike providers whose capability is largely theoretical, we’ve supported clients through real invocations across a range of scenarios, giving them confidence that if they’re ever needed, the processes, people and expertise are already in place.”