Pexa has appointed former NatWest homebuying director Miguel Sard (pictured) as a non-executive director to the Australian property platform’s UK board.  

Sard, who left NatWest last spring, will continue as chief banking officer at Shawbrook Bank, overseeing its consumer lending, savings and specialist mortgage propositions. 

Pexa says Sard will work with the board, providing independent oversight and advice, as the company “continues to invest in the UK market”. 

Pexa agreed to buy Aim-listed UK rival Smoove for £30.8m in October 2023. 

The move gained the business access to over 75 conveyancer firms on the UK firm’s conveyancing site, and a further 2,100 businesses that worked with Smoove to arrange panels for lenders across the UK market.      

Sard, a 20-year industry veteran, left his role as NatWest managing director of homebuying and ownership last May. 

Prior to that, he spent over 15 years in various roles at Santander, primarily as managing director for its mortgage division. 

Pexa independent chair of its UK board John Hooper says: “As we continue to build Pexa’s presence in the UK market, we are delighted to have Miguel join Pexa as a non-executive director as we venture into our next stage of growth.  

“This will include both the existing remortgage offering and the planned rollout of our sale and purchase proposition.” 

Sard adds: “It is clear that the market is in desperate need of this transformation with the current remortgage and buying and selling process being far too arduous, time-consuming and stressful for all involved.  

“The level of manual intervention required also opens up more opportunities for malicious actors to commit fraud, and these are all issues Pexa exists to solve.”