United Trust Bank (UTB) has announced the appointment of Julian Mellors as head of block & wholesale funding.

Mellors (pictured) has worked in the asset finance industry for over 30 years, carrying out senior roles with lenders including BNP Paribas, Leasing Solutions, Syscap and Wesleyan Bank.

In his new role at UTB, Mellors will be focusing on building and launching the bank’s new block discounting & wholesale funding proposition.

He is reporting to head of asset finance, Nathan Mollett, and the bank aims to introduce its new proposition to the market in the first half of 2023.

Mellors said: “I’m very pleased to be given the opportunity to introduce wholesale funding activities to UTB. block discounting will be the first of what will hopefully become a suite of offerings in the Wholesale lending space. UTB’s courage to develop at this challenging economic juncture is reflective of UTB’s enterprising culture, firmly rooted in intelligent risk management.”

Mollett added: “Julian is a hugely experienced commercial finance professional and it’s great to have someone with his credentials and breadth of knowledge across lending, risk and compliance join the business. He is a strong and welcome addition to the senior leadership team and the experience he gained when setting up Wesleyan’s block discounting offering will be invaluable as we aim to differentiate ourselves in the market rather than simply blend in.

“2022 has so far been another busy and record-breaking year for UTB’s AF business. This is an exciting time at UTB, and, despite some economic uncertainty, we are very well placed to support our broker partners and their clients and continue to provide the funding they need to invest and grow. This intention to move into the block and wholesale funding market once again demonstrates our ambition to develop and diversify our business and underlines our commitment to being a long-term player in the business finance sector.”