Belmont Green has announced the appointment of John Rowan as chief financial officer (CFO) at a time when the lender looks to accelerate its growth plans.

Current CFO, David Basra will leave the business following a period of handover.

Rowan (pictured) has many years’ experience in capital markets and securitisations, which is a key source of funding for Belmont Green.

He was group treasurer at Virgin Money for more than seven years and most recently took on the same role at Provident Financial Group.

Anth Mooney, CEO, Belmont Green, said: “We are living in challenging and unprecedented times, but at Belmont Green we are focused firmly on the future. My ambition is to create a growing mortgage lender that offers a unique proposition in the specialist lending market, one which supports Britain’s many underserved borrowers.

I am delighted that I will get the chance to work with John again, after seven very successful years together at Virgin Money. The breadth of capital markets and retail banking expertise that John will bring is a huge step in strengthening our executive team as we look to push the business forward.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank David for his contribution over the past four years. He has been a central figure in the journey of Belmont Green, and we wish him well for the future.”

Rowan added: “The specialist lending sector is a crucial part of the wider mortgage market, and one that has great scope for growth. Belmont Green has ambitious plans for the future and is entering an exciting stage in its growth journey which I will be delighted to be part of. I look forward to working with Anth again and to joining the highly experienced leadership team he is assembling at the company.”