It says that West will be responsible for boosting the firm’s brand and building the sales and marketing team. He will work “very closely” with Saxon Trust’s co-founder and director Andrew Gardiner.

West, who has worked in the property sector for over 25 years, spent the last 18 months working as a consultant for media and fintech companies, such as digital marketing and finance firm Falbros Group and most recently for development funding specialists Pivot.

Previously, he has held senior roles at lenders such as GE Capital, Swift, Funding 365 and Central Bridging. He also served two terms as a board director of the Association of Short-Term Lenders between 2015 and 2019.

West says: “I’ve learnt some interesting new skills over the last 18 months and look forward to using these and all my experience to help drive growth at Saxon Trust.

“The Saxon Trust Team have been trading successfully for over 15 years but have tended to fly under the radar. With institutional funding lines now in place to complement our strategic backers the future looks very exciting as we expand and enhance our proposition.”

Saxon’s Gardiner adds: “Brian has huge experience, he’s uniquely well-connected in the industry and we are delighted he’s joined us to help us drive the Saxon Trust proposition forward.”

Last month the lender hired Marc Osterley as financial controller and Stuart Munden as its new head of credit and risk.