Former TSB and Virgin Money chief Paul Pester has been appointed chair at Firenze, a Manchester-based embedded finance startup that assists wealth managers in providing loans secured against investment portfolios.
Firenze aims to partner with brokers, wealth managers, and investment platforms to deliver ‘Lombard Loans’ to Britain’s 13 million mass affluent customers. While these loans have traditionally been available only to ultra-wealthy clients of private banks, Firenze enables quick access to loans starting at £65,000 now, and potentially as low as £25,000 next year, contingent on FCA authorization.
The startup, which raised £750,000 in pre-seed funding earlier this year, has developed a proprietary platform, a white label product, and integrated APIs to allow wealth managers, advisors, and investment platforms to easily offer Lombard loans without needing to change custody.
Pester, who left TSB in 2018 following a significant IT crisis that caused widespread problems for customers, previously held senior positions at Lloyds Bank and Santander. Recently, he has focused on fintech ventures, having co-founded the money-sharing app Loop, which was acquired by Tandem Bank last year, where he currently serves as chair.
Joining Pester on the board are non-executive directors Samantha Bamert, a Barclays veteran, and Mike Toole, co-founder of the wealth manager Artorius.
Pester commented, “Lombard lending is one of the best-kept secrets of the super wealthy, enabling quick access to cash without having to sell investments. It’s great to be able to bring this to over 13 million UK consumers who have built up savings and investments of over £50,000 through their advisors.”