Specialist real estate development finance lender Pivot has made a series of senior appointments and promotions.
Clare Atkins has joined the business as finance director, Chris King has been promoted to chief investment officer, Slav Melnikovs has been promoted to senior credit manager and PakSan Wu is now director of strategy and capital.
Atkins (pictured) said: “I joined Pivot because of its growth ambitions. Having spent eight years building my career in a fast-paced, agile fintech business, I wanted to apply that experience in a business at an exciting stage of its evolution. My focus is not only on building a scalable finance function, but also on ensuring finance plays a central role in strategic decision-making. By strengthening reporting, governance and control frameworks, we can provide the insight and confidence needed to support sustainable growth and position the business for its next phase of development.”
King added: “Taking on the CIO role means having oversight across our whole portfolio at a real inflection point for Pivot. I’m looking forward to bringing a broader credit lens to the larger, more complex transactions we’re now taking on, and to strengthening how origination and credit work together as we grow.”
Melnikovs said: “I now have the scope to lead on larger, more complex transactions and to build out our professional relationships with valuers, lawyers and surveyors in a much more structured way. It also means I get to help bring new people into the team and support their development, which is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Wu added: “Pivot’s trajectory means that we needed to establish a focus on overarching strategy and vision for the business. I am very much looking forward to developing partnerships and funding relationships that fit that vision and boost our overall proposition for borrowers.”
Shahil Kotecha, CEO of Pivot, said: “We’re experiencing an exciting shift in our lending, partly as a result of our change in funding structure. The average facility size has increased, requirements are becoming more complex, and volumes are up. Clare, Chris, Slav and PakSan each bring enormous value to the business, and together they bolster our ability to continue to support brokers and developers as Pivot evolves.”
Oliver Bates, director – private credit at Foresight Group, which completed a £100m+ debt facility and equity investment into Pivot earlier this year, added: “Pivot is an impressive provider in the development finance space, and we are fully behind their exciting vision. The evolution of the team indicates a strong outlook for the coming months and we have every confidence in their continued ambition to deliver outstanding solutions for brokers and borrowers.”
