Kensington Mortgages has hired James Burwood as new business development manager for the East region.  

Burwood will be responsible for the specialist lender’s business in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ilford, Ipswich, Norwich, Romford, and Southend-on Sea.  

He joins from NatWest, where he worked as a business development manager for over six years, starting in 2016. During that time, he obtained his CeMap qualification from The London Institute of Banking & Finance and was runner-up in the 2018 British Mortgage Awards.  

Burwood replaces Andrew Heath who joined The Mortgage Lender as a business development manager for Home Counties, North in October.  

Kensington Mortgages chief executive Mark Arnold says: “James’ experience and expertise will be invaluable in meeting Kensington’s future objectives and strengthening our relationships with our broker partners.   

“He joins Kensington at an exciting time in the company’s journey, as we continue to pursue our ambitious growth plans while maintaining a market-leading standard of service.”  

Kensington’s Burwood adds: “With the mortgage market facing new challenges, specialist lenders are becoming more important than ever in providing value to customers.”  

Last June, Barclays agreed to buy Kensington Mortgages for £2.3bn from companies controlled by funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Advisors and funds affiliated with Sixth Street Partners.  

The move by the high street bank was one of its biggest recent acquisitions, with chief executive Mark Hammerstein saying the purchase demonstrated its “commitment to the UK residential mortgage market”.