7IM has appointed Darren Fancourt as its head of operations. He succeeds Anthony Higgs, who has relocated to Australia, and he will report to chief operations officer, Liz Paradine. Fancourt has worked as 7IM for 16 years, most recently as head of trading and operational change. In this role, the firm said that he has played a pivotal role in driving scalable growth and operational performance. This includes working on its multi-year, multi-million-pound technology transformation programme, as well as its strategic partnership with fintech provider, Tikker. To further strengthen the team, Darren Campbell has been promoted to deputy head of operations.

Recognise Bank has seen its loan book grow by over 30% during the financial year to more than £400m and has exceeded £500m in deposits for the first time. The bank has also announced the opening of a new office in Milton Keynes to support its growth plans and work with a wider number of SMEs. The office is set to strengthen collaboration, leadership oversight and operational effectiveness across the bank.

Mike Flynn has been appointed as non-executive director at the specialist property lender, Together. He brings more than two decades of experience to the role, having worked across corporate governance, strategic development and operational leadership. Flynn joins Together from Bracken Property Company Limited, where he currently serves as group chief executive officer. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership positions, including director at Network Plus Services, as well as other executive roles within the civil engineering and utilities sectors.

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