United Trust Bank (UTB) has hired Eleanor Russell-Blackburn as a business development manager (BDM) to lead its asset finance broker support in Scotland.
This comes after UTB said it wanted to expand its activity in Scotland and establish a local presence, so it could build relationships with brokers catering to SMEs.
Russell-Blackburn has experience in SME and commercial finance, as well as the Scottish asset finance market.
She began her asset finance career at Haydock Finance as an internal account manager, before progressing to regional manager.
In this role, she oversaw business in Scotland and developed relationships with brokers working in the area.
Before joining UTB, Russell-Blackburn was a senior BDM at Shawbrook Bank, where she worked with brokers and their clients from the pre-credit submission stage.
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She recently relocated to the country, and her role at UTB will focus on strengthening and developing both new and existing relationships with brokers, and expanding the lender’s market share.
Russell-Blackburn will report to Astrid Michael, head of sales at UTB Asset Finance.
Nathan Mollett, head of Asset Finance at UTB, said: “Scotland presents a significant opportunity for UTB asset finance, with many well-established and thriving industries largely under-served by the asset finance market. Eleanor’s experience of working in Scotland with brokers supporting a diverse range of Scottish SMEs makes her the perfect person to lead our push North of the border.
“Even more so given Eleanor is now based in Tweeddale, just an hour or so from Edinburgh and Glasgow.”
Russell-Blackburn (pictured) added: “I am delighted to have joined UTB at a very exciting time in their story and look forward to catching up with broker contacts old and new over the coming weeks.
“I love living and working in Scotland. It is a beautiful, thriving country with many successful, capital-intensive sectors with a strong SME presence creating substantial demand for asset finance solutions. Being based in Scotland and having a deep understanding of the country’s economy and commercial finance market gives me an advantage over other lenders who can only operate from a distance.
“As UTB’s ‘boots on the ground’, I will be introducing brokers to the bank’s service-driven proposition comprising competitive products, direct access to underwriters, a skilled and dedicated operations and payouts team all backed by the latest time-saving technology.”
