Paragon Bank has named Louisa Sedgwick (pictured above) as managing director of its mortgages division, with immediate effect.
Louisa, who has been with Paragon since April 2023, succeeds Richard Rowntree, who will be commencing a new role within the financial services industry.
A well-known and highly respected figure in the mortgage industry, Louisa has over 30 years of experience in the sector, gained from numerous senior roles held at several specialist lenders, including HTB, Vida, Leeds Building Society, and Bradford & Bingley.
Russell Anderson, who is currently the bank’s customer retention and partnerships director, will become the commercial director, taking over Louisa’s current responsibilities.
In addition, Lisa Steele, currently the head of mortgage underwriting is promoted to mortgage lending director.
Louisa said: “I’m excited to get started in this new role and am proud to be leading Paragon’s mortgages division into what will be its 30th year in the BTL market.
“Under Richard, and John Heron before him, Paragon has developed into the leading specialist BTL lender in the market, enjoying an excellent reputation and boasting one of the best teams in the business.
“We are entering an exciting phase of our development with the imminent launch of our new, bespoke mortgage origination platform, with further digitalisation programmes also in the roadmap.
“With the BTL market increasingly driven by portfolio landlords, we are well-placed to benefit from market growth.”
Nigel Terrington, Paragon Banking group’s chief executive, added: “We are delighted that Louisa is stepping up to the mortgages managing director role.
“Her extensive experience and esteemed reputation in the mortgage sector, coupled with her dynamic leadership and strategic vision, make her the ideal candidate to steer Paragon towards our next stage of development and success.”
“Richard leaves with our thanks and gratitude; he has made a huge impact at Paragon over the last five years, not only in driving forward our mortgages digitalisation programme and the broader growth in new lending, but also for his work in social mobility through initiatives such as Progress Together, and we wish him well for the future.”
Richard said: “I’d like to thank the whole Paragon team for their support and friendship since I joined in 2020.
“I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together and wish everyone well for the future.”
