GARY CHAPLIN LTD
Director - Commercial Lending
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Director – Commercial Lending
Manchester
c£100,000 + Bonus + Significant Scope
A rare opportunity to move beyond traditional banking into a genuinely entrepreneurial lending platform, taking ownership of complex UK and international funding transactions with significant autonomy and direct exposure to senior leadership.
Join one of the UK's most entrepreneurial and rapidly expanding specialist finance businesses, delivering sophisticated commercial, project and structured finance solutions across the UK and internationally.
This is a highly commercial, transaction-led role positioned at the heart of a dynamic specialist finance platform operating across bespoke commercial lending, structured finance, project finance, and international funding solutions.
The organisation has developed a strong reputation for delivering flexible and creative funding structures across transactions ranging from under £500k to £10s of millions, that frequently fall outside the appetite of conventional lenders. Its activities range from SME and mid-market commercial funding through to complex multi-million-pound domestic and international transactions involving sophisticated structuring, security arrangements, and cross-border considerations.
As transaction volumes continue to grow, the business is seeking an experienced finance professional capable of taking ownership of complex funding opportunities, progressing transactions from initial assessment through to execution, and helping institutionalise internal transaction capability.
This is not a traditional underwriting role operating within rigid credit frameworks and committee-driven structures. This is a genuine deal leadership role. You'll structure, negotiate and execute complex transactions—not simply review credit papers prepared by others. Instead, the successful candidate will combine:
- commercial judgement,
- structured finance capability,
- credit and risk assessment expertise,
- and strong transaction execution skills
to help drive complex deals through to successful completion.
The role sits directly alongside senior leadership and offers substantial autonomy, influence, and exposure to a highly varied transaction environment.
The Opportunity
This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced structured finance or commercial lending professional seeking a more entrepreneurial and commercially engaging environment.
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The business is specifically interested in individuals who enjoy complexity, autonomy, and high-level deal involvement rather than narrow institutional specialisation.
You will become deeply involved in:
- transaction assessment,
- structuring,
- commercial analysis,
- risk evaluation,
- negotiation,
- and transaction execution
…..all across a broad range of UK and international funding opportunities.
The successful individual will play a central role in helping the business scale its execution capability while reducing dependency on founder-led transaction management.
Key Responsibilities
- Assess complex commercial lending and funding opportunities
- Structure bespoke domestic and international funding solutions
- Analyse:
- credit risk,
- commercial viability,
- collateral structures,
- jurisdictional considerations,
- and transaction feasibility
- Prepare transaction papers, funding proposals, and risk assessments
- Manage deals throughout the full transaction lifecycle
- Coordinate lenders, borrowers, investors, lawyers, valuers, brokers, and external advisers
- Support negotiation and execution of funding structures
- Assist with relationship management across key counterparties
- Contribute to the continued development of scalable internal transaction capability
- Support strategic growth across lending and project finance activities
Candidate Profile
We are looking for someone who enjoys solving complex commercial problems rather than operating within rigid lending policies. Someone who combines technical lending expertise with commercial judgement and enjoys taking ownership of transactions from origination through to completion.
Candidate profile and chemistry fit is critical for these pivotal roles as technical performance. This is a fast-paced, innovative, highly-entrepreneurial environment; attitude is as important as aptitude. The person is everything. The appointees will be instrumental in driving the future of this business, delivery objectives and the embracing the culture of this business; the gravity of success is all about having the right attitude, underpinned with demonstrable experience.
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The ideal individual is likely to come from:
- Structured Finance,
- Project Finance,
- Corporate Banking,
- Leveraged Finance,
- Private Credit,
- Debt Advisory,
- or Specialist Commercial Lending environments.
Potential source backgrounds may include:
- challenger banks,
- debt funds,
- specialist lenders,
- structured finance boutiques,
- alternative lending platforms,
- or sophisticated commercial finance businesses.
However, the business is not seeking a purely process-driven institutional banker.
The successful candidate must combine:
- strong technical capability,
- commercial instinct,
- transaction leadership,
- entrepreneurial mindset,
- and the ability to operate effectively without excessive infrastructure or bureaucracy.
The role requires someone comfortable making decisions, managing ambiguity, and driving transactions forward in a commercially intelligent manner.
Experience Required
- Significant experience within commercial lending, structured finance, project finance, or transaction execution
- Strong understanding of credit, security, transaction structuring, and commercial risk
- Experience managing complex funding transactions through to completion
- Cross-border or international transaction exposure advantageous
- Strong stakeholder management and negotiation capability
- Ability to operate autonomously within a fast-moving commercial environment
Why Join?
This role offers the opportunity to step beyond the limitations of traditional institutional finance environments and play a genuinely influential role within a growing international finance platform.
Few roles offer this combination of:
- complex domestic and international transactions
- genuine commercial autonomy
- direct access to decision makers
- the ability to influence how deals are structured
- exposure to an ambitious, high-growth finance platform.
For commercially minded finance professionals seeking greater influence, variety, and entrepreneurial exposure, this represents a rare and compelling opportunity.
The role has significant scope to evolve as the lending platform continues to grow, offering the opportunity to become a key member of the senior leadership team.
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