United Trust Bank (UTB) has combined its property development and structured property solutions divisions to create a new real estate finance division.

The new division will provide funding for acquisitions, development, refurbishment, investment, stabilisation and refinancing across residential, commercial and mixed-use property in England and Wales.

The London-based specialist bank said the unit will expand its ability to support developers and investors across the UK property market at a time when developers face rising costs, tighter margins, planning delays and increased regulatory demands, causing greater demand for flexible financing across the property lifecycle.

Adam Bovingdon has been appointed managing director of real estate finance, supported by specialist teams covering property development, living sectors, structured property finance and strategic partnerships.

The enlarged division follows strong growth in UTB’s real estate lending businesses, particularly structured property finance, with further team expansion planned.

Bovingdon said: “The way our customers approach development and investment has evolved considerably. Today's developers are increasingly operating across multiple sectors, tenures and funding strategies, requiring a lending partner capable of supporting them throughout the entire property lifecycle and across a variety of project types. Bringing together our property development and structured property finance divisions enables us to do exactly that."

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