Hope Capital Property Finance has created a pre-application team to prepare cases before they are passed to underwriting.
The move follows a restructure of the specialist lender’s sales department earlier this year, led by Kim Parker, director of lending operations and commercial strategy.
James McDonough has returned to Hope Capital after a three-year absence to lead the team. He has more than 12 years’ experience in regulated and unregulated lending, including underwriting operations.
McDonough is supported by pre-application specialists Michael Trafford, Joe Jacques and Dyl Roscoe.
Trafford, who joined Hope Capital in 2022, has moved from his previous position as a sales specialist. Jacques has joined from Santander, where he specialised in fraud detection and financial crime prevention, while Roscoe previously worked as a lending specialist at Metro Bank.
The team will handle applications passed to it by Hope Capital’s sales specialists, completing initial checks and preparing cases before their transfer to the underwriting department.
Hope Capital said enquiries would be acknowledged within one business hour and initial due diligence completed within a five-hour service-level agreement. The team will also arrange valuation and legal quotations before underwriting where applications are time-sensitive.
Fully completed cases are expected to be packaged and submitted within 24 business hours of the lender receiving all required documents. The team will also support the sales and underwriting departments and operate a dedicated line for brokers with post-submission queries.
McDonough says: “I’m thrilled to rejoin Hope Capital Property Finance, especially to lead this new team. The pre-application stage is a crucial part of the specialist lending journey because speed is everything.
“A more complete, well-packaged application enables a faster underwriting process, helping us deliver quicker outcomes for brokers and borrowers. I’m looking forward to leading the team as we continue to enhance the service we provide.”
Parker adds: “The launch of our new pre-application team marks another important step in strengthening our proposition for brokers and borrowers. Even within its first few weeks, the team has already made a positive impact on both efficiency and service delivery.
“We know that speed is critical in bridging finance, which is why we are continually investing in improvements that streamline our processes and help our customers complete transactions more quickly.”
