Paragon Bank’s Construction Finance team has strengthened its regional presence with the appointment of Business Development Managers, Chris Shaw and Kelly Matthews.
Chris, who will be based out of Newcastle, joins from JCB Finance where he was able to build on his specialist knowledge of the construction sector, the needs of customers and assets funded. Prior to that, he worked in the Manufacturing team at Close Brothers.
Kelly has over nine years of experience working in the construction finance industry, working with both Societe Generale Equipment Finance and BNP Paribas, supporting broker, vendor and dealer relationships. She will be based in Hampshire, looking after customers in the South of England.
Construction Finance sits within Paragon Bank’s SME Lending division, supporting the needs of the UK’s small to medium-sized companies.
Chris said: “I will be focussing on supporting new and existing clients in the North of England, covering Greater Manchester, across to Hull and all the way up to the Scottish Border. My focus will be on direct business funding, working with a variety of machine suppliers and customers themselves.
“I’m looking forward to getting out and meeting both customers and machinery dealers once the pandemic eases.”
Kelly commented: “Whilst spending some time out of the industry to travel and have a family I am very excited to join Paragon Bank with this new opportunity.
“I am really looking forward to reconnecting with historic relationships, whilst building new contacts in order to support dealers and end users with their finance requirements. The construction industry is paramount to our economy and an industry I have a passion for!”
Terry Lloyd, Head of Construction Finance at Paragon, said: “It’s great to have Chris and Kelly onboard with us. Their wealth of specialist knowledge and experience will be hugely beneficial in helping to further support customers across the UK whilst demonstrating our commitment to the sector.
“With Hillhead Digital on the horizon from the 30-31 March, Chris and Kelly’s presence will be invaluable in supporting the team and further growing our proposition.”
