Chiara Caldwell joins Close Brothers Property Finance from CBRE to spearhead growth
Close Brothers Property Finance, part of Close Brothers Group plc, announces the appointment of Chiara Caldwell (née Zuccon) to the newly created role of Managing Director of Structured Finance, to spearhead business growth across Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and Build to Rent (BTR).
Close Brothers Property Finance, which is celebrating 50 years of development finance lending, has recently seen its loan book grow to just under £2bn. The appointment strengthens the bank’s proposition as it diversifies into the fast-growing PBSA and BTR sectors, which are currently valued at £85.8bn and £35bn respectively[1].
Chiara brings over 20 years’ banking experience, most recently from global real estate advisor CBRE, where she was head of residential debt advisory, with responsibility for helping clients to source, structure and execute their debt requirements. Working closely with CBRE’s Residential Capital Markets and Research teams, Chiara leveraged her sector knowledge to present attractive propositions to institutional customers looking to develop large scale private rental schemes.
Prior to joining CBRE in 2018, Chiara spent 11 years at NatWest, most recently head of private rented sector, where she oversaw the deployment of £1bn in senior lending throughout the UK. Her extensive experience in BTR stretches across all major asset classes of the private rental sector, including student housing, co-living and senior living. As an industry leading figure, Chiara also sits on the board of the British Property Federation’s Build to Rent committee and has advised Homes England and the Greater London Authority on initiatives to increase supply of Build to Rent homes.
Phil Hooper, chief executive officer of Close Brothers Property Finance, says: “I’m delighted that Chiara will be joining our business and helping us grow our exposure within these strongly performing asset classes. We have been lending to the development marketplace for 50 years and have a first-class, relationship-led proposition, so it feels like a natural evolution to diversify our lending offering. I am also pleased that she will bring some fresh perspectives around the leadership of the business, and I am happy to welcome her to the team”.
Chiara Caldwell says: “Both BTR and PBSA continue to flourish as asset classes in the UK, attracting large-scale institutional investment. While supply has been restricted over the last year, demand has continued to increase, pushing up rental growth and creating considerable sector growth potential in the coming year and beyond. Expanding into these markets will further strengthen the value proposition for borrowers. The relationship-led, personalised approach to lending employed by the excellent team at Close is a huge factor behind their continued success and I’m looking forward to helping the business continue its strong growth trajectory.”
[1] Knight Frank and Savills respective sector research from 2024