Short-term lender Glenhawk has appointed John Butt as head of credit to lead its expansion into new product areas including buy-to-let.

Butt joins the newly-created role from Foundation Homeloans and has more than 20 years’ experience in specialist lending.

The lender says it has the funding in place to support “significantly larger lending capacity”.

Butt will work closely with the underwriting and sales team to improve the application and lending process, as well as assisting with complex enquiries, approving high value loans and agreeing policy exceptions.

He will be based in London and report to chief operating officer Damani Johnson.

In previous roles at Foundation Homeloans and prior to that, Vida Homeloans, Butt was responsible for risk analysis and credit policy across buy-to-let, residential, commercial and mixed-use assets.

Glenhawk chief executive Guy Harrington says: “John’s proven track record establishing credit policies and successfully advising on portfolio transactions and complex credit situations will be essential as we look to put in place the systems and processes to successfully launch new products later this year.

“Delivering on our growth ambitions will require us to qualify an even higher volume of applications, whilst maintaining the highest standards of client service, and John’s appointment is key to ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to achieve this.”

Butt adds: “As the macroeconomic backdrop improves, I’m hugely excited to be joining the talented team with responsibility for driving continued excellence across what is already a very strong credit policy function.”