UK alternative lender Glenhawk appointed Christie Cook to the newly created role of head of product in line with its strategy to grow the business and roll out several new products in 2021.
Cook, who brings over 20 years of real estate lending experience, will be based in London and report directly to CEO Guy Harrington. She will be responsible for launching new products, while also enhancing the existing unregulated commercial and residential and regulated residential product range. She will work closely with key stakeholders, including Glenhawk’s institutional and intermediary partners, to develop and deliver product propositions, devise strategies and support marketing campaigns to maximise margin and distribution opportunities.
Cook joins Glenhawk from Bank of Ireland, where she spent nine years, including the last five as head of Product and Pricing. During this time, she was responsible for a team of 15. Her previous roles included service manager at Post Office Financial Services and offsite operations manager at Lehman Brothers.
Glenhawk announced the launch of its first regulated bridging product in October, in response to increasing borrower demand driven by the stamp duty holiday extension and pent up homeowner demand. It followed the securing of a senior funding line from J.P. Morgan in March, with Balbec Capital agreeing to provide a £25 mln mezzanine funding line in December.
Guy Harrington, CEO of Glenhawk, commented: ‘Having spent the first quarter of this year refining our product proposition, we have exciting plans to expand our offering beyond the bridging space over the next 12 months. This reflects increasing borrower appetite, underpinned by the more traditional forms of financing unable or unwilling to provide borrowers with the services they require, which has seen enjoy a record month of lending, a fantastic achievement given the current backdrop.’
