Former RBS commercial director joins Bridge Help

Bridge Help has announced the appointment of respected former RBS commercial director Darren Marshall as head of risk and underwriting at the firm.

Darren has been enticed out of early retirement to join the rapidly growing Chesterfield-based bridging finance company which provides short term loans for commercial property.

He joins Bridge Help as a non executive director and brings a wealth of high level experience in the banking sector to the company.

His 38-year career with the RBS Group has given him a proven track record in business development which he now brings to the team at Bridge Help. His appointment will assist in driving forward the firm’s ambitions to lend £100 million per year both direct to individuals and through a broker network.

Prior to his early retirement in 2018, Darren covered South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire in his RBS role, building an extensive knowledge base of the local marketplace. After choosing to leave the finance sector through early retirement he and his partner moved from near Rotherham to the North Yorkshire coast from where he will continue to be based.

Darren explained: “Since choosing to retire I have received a number of job offers but the one with Bridge Help genuinely excited me for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the firm’s agility. Working with Bridge Help also enables me to work remotely which suits my new lifestyle.”

Central to Bridge Help’s agility is video conferencing technology which is enabling it to deal face-to-face with clients, brokers and solicitors in order to speed up the application process.

Bridge Help’s chief executive Chris Sellars welcomed Darren onboard, saying: “In my previous role as a solicitor in North Derbyshire, I had the privilege of working alongside Darren on a number of my clients’ deals and have long respected his professionalism and approach. It is a considerable coup for Bridge Help that we have been able to entice Darren out of retirement to join the team. His appointment represents an exciting stage in Bridge Help’s development in the marketplace.”

His appointment follows the decision of Chris Sellars earlier this year to fully commit himself to the business and leave a successful 30-year legal career to focus on the bridging finance firm.

Darren added: “I have known Chris a long time and the chance to work with him was too good to miss.”