Paragon Bank has strengthened its mortgages sales team with the appointment of two new business development managers to cover the North West and North East of England.

Eloise Potts and Stephen Harrison join the specialist lender’s mortgages division, each bringing over 10 years of industry experience to their respective roles supporting brokers and landlord clients in the regions.

Stephen Harrison joins Paragon having spent more than eight years at London & Country, where he held advisory, managerial and training roles before founding his own brokerage. The lender said his background would bring a valuable broker-side perspective to the team.

Eloise Potts previously spent over eight years at Aldermore. She began her career as an underwriter before moving into a BDM role, giving her what Paragon described as a hands-on understanding of lender requirements that helps her support intermediary partners more effectively.

Both will report to Sam Debenham, regional manager of mortgage sales.

Debenham said: “It’s fantastic to welcome Eloise and Stephen to the team. Having worked in BDM, broker and underwriting roles means that their knowledge and experience couldn’t be better suited.

“They know how brokers like to work and how they don’t so are well placed to support them.”

Jason Wilde, head of sales for Paragon Bank’s mortgages division, said the appointments reflected a strategic push to grow the lender’s regional footprint and intermediary relationships.

“Bringing in Eloise and Stephen bolsters our mortgages sales team and highlights how Paragon is attracting the best talent from across the industry,” he said.

“They’ll work closely with firms in the North West and North East as part of our distribution strategy.

“This is focused on building relationships with a wider network of brokerages to write more simple business easily and swiftly, in addition to the complex cases we’ve built a reputation for during our 30 years of buy-to-let lending.”

Paragon’s buy-to-let offering has traditionally catered to complex landlord needs, including portfolio clients and limited company structures. The lender is now seeking to complement that expertise by increasing its support for more straightforward business via its broker network.