Assetz expands South West team with ambition to support 1,000 homes by 2028
Assetz Capital, the specialist property development lender, has outlined its ambition to support the delivery of 1,000 homes across the South West and South Wales by the end of 2028. To support this, the lender has appointed Robin Bruce as senior relationship manager for the region, adding a specialist with six years of development finance experience.
Assetz has already provided development funding supporting the delivery of 702 homes across the South West and South Wales. This total includes a recently completed five-home development in Plymouth, financed through a £2.5m development facility.
Robin joins from Lakeshield, where he worked as business development manager, turning long-standing industry relationships into new key accounts across the South West.
His experience spans all three sides of development finance, having worked in business development for lenders, as a specialist broker and in property development. This breadth of experience has given him a comprehensive understanding of what SME housebuilders need to bring schemes to site and secure the right funding.
Throughout his career, Robin has originated, structured and completed transactions across bridging, development and commercial finance, building a strong track record across multiple areas of the industry.
His appointment provides Assetz with additional capacity to pursue opportunities across the South West and South Wales while ensuring developers can access local expertise backed by the lender’s national funding and technical capabilities.
Robin’s arrival forms part of a wider investment in Assetz Capital’s regional presence. The South West team will be strengthened further in September, when another new recruit is scheduled to join, providing additional capacity to support more SME housebuilders across the region.
Commenting on his appointment, Robin said: “Having spent the last few years of my career working across different sides of development finance, I understand both what SME housebuilders need when bringing schemes to site and what lenders must do to support them effectively.
“My experience has been rooted in the South West and South Wales, so the opportunity to help more SME developers across the region through Assetz is hugely exciting.
“Assetz stood out because of its specialism in the SME market, its genuine commitment to every region across the UK and its focus on providing certainty to developers. There is plenty of appetite and opportunity here, and I’m looking forward to building new relationships and helping more housebuilders bring their schemes forward.”
Andrew Fraser, chief commercial officer at Assetz Capital, said: “Robin’s background puts him in a unique position. He understands development finance from all sides of the table, and that experience will be a real asset as we pursue further growth across the South West and South Wales.
“We have already supported the delivery of 702 homes across the two regions. Our ambition is to surpass 1,000 homes by the end of 2028, with Robin playing an important role in identifying new opportunities and supporting more SME developers.
“At Assetz, we have built a strong national network with people embedded in individual regions. This enables our team to understand the local market dynamics affecting SME housebuilders while drawing on the national expertise and funding capability needed to get deals over the line.
“Robin’s appointment, and the further expansion of the team planned for September, demonstrates our commitment to the South West and South Wales and ensures local developers can continue to access the funding and expertise they need.