Jonathan was at the forefront of the bridging industry’s revival when he launched Dragonfly Property Finance back in 2009.
At that time, most lenders were vacating the market.
Jonathan, by contrast, used the lending vacuum left in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis to offer a genuine alternative to the high-street banks.
The lender he created went on to fund more than any other bridging lender in history. This led to him being awarded the Bridging and Commercial Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Bridging’ in 2015.
He launched Octane in 2017 and the business is scaling rapidly.
Over the past 25 years Matt has been at the head of credit teams at multiple lenders including GE Capital, Money Partners, Dragonfly Property Finance and more recently Octopus Property.
It was at Dragonfly where he was the proud head of a team with a 0.1% default ratio and more than £2bn lent.
Never one to tread water, Matt works with borrowers to get them the finance they need, and ahead of deadline.
Robert started his finance career at Deloitte where he spent 5 years before he joined Octopus Investments in 2010 within the finance team supporting early stage investee businesses. It was here that he worked alongside the Octane management team as he built the finance and reporting function for Dragonfly over the next 6 years. He then joined M&G Real Estate to oversee pricing and control of the Retail and Institutional UK Property funds with NAVs in excess of £8bn.
Robert joined Octane at the outset in 2017 as part of the management team, once again building out the financial controls, processes and reporting. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Alex joined from HSBC where he worked in the UK Corporate Real Estate team, acting as a relationship director for, among others, three of the bank’s 10 largest European real estate clients with £1bn of loans under management with significant experience in arranging/executing numerous loans, from £5m to £100m and beyond.
Prior to HSBC, he worked for GE Capital Real Estate both on the direct investment and lending sides of the business, underwriting and executing equity investment and development projects and new finance deals.
Alex is a chartered surveyor and was a RICS-registered valuer having qualified at Lambert Smith Hampton where he started his career prior to GE Capital.
In short, he has worked across multiple property disciplines (equity, debt, consultancy) and has a deep understanding of and passion for property.
Richard has worked in financial services since 1997 and in the specialist finance sector for over 20 years.
He is best known as being instrumental in taking Masthaven through their journey from a niche non-regulated bridging lender to being one of the UK’s most respected specialist banks, which diversified into residential and BTL mortgages as well as development finance.
He has in depth professional knowledge which he is always keen to share with everyone to attain the best outcome for both client and introducer.
Richard leads the Sales Team and manages some key broker relationships.
Josh has 10+ years’ experience in managing intermediary relationships, across both private equity and property finance.
He joined Octane from Mariana Capital, where he led the Sales Team, and prior to that he worked at Octopus Investments where he managed intermediary relationships in London.
Josh is responsible for co-managing the Sales Team, managing some key broker relationships and overseeing the company’s marketing.
Rick embarked on his career at HSBC, where he dedicated 14 years before joining Octane in 2018. During his tenure at HSBC, Rick navigated through various roles within the commercial arm of the bank, culminating in a specialisation in Real Estate Finance within the Large Corporate Real Estate team. Here, he orchestrated loan transactions ranging from £5 million to £100 million and beyond.
In his final role at HSBC, Rick served as a Relationship Director within a specialised Hotel division, overseeing three of HSBC UK's top ten income-generating hotel clients.
Today, Rick is an integral part of Octane's Credit Management Team, working alongside Matt and Alex; and specialises in execution of Octane’s larger and complex cases.
Justin first joined the specialist lending industry in 2013 when Jonathan and Mark recruited him into Dragonfly as a BDM, after 20 years in the Financial Services industry.
His excellent relationship building skills quickly enabled him to settle in and before long he was soon seen as the “go to man” for Bridging deals introduced from a wide panel of brokers across the South of England.
In 2016 Justin was recognised as the BDM of the year at the prestigious Bridging & Commercial Awards and he went on to be responsible for over £500m worth of lending before joining back up with the team at Octane Capital.
Francesca has 15+ year’s experience in the finance industry, having primarily worked for HSBC and Clydesdale Bank before joining Octane Capital in 2018.
She has a proven track record of excellent communication and relationship building skills, always striving to achieve the highest standard, with client focus and delivery being a priority. Francesca's Octane broker relationships have been forged by her dedication to this service and delivery.
Shrena has been in the property finance sector for over 15 years, starting her career at Barclays and worked for several High Street banks in between including Santander for 9 years. Shrena then moved on to a challenger bank as a BDM for Shawbrook looking after the Top brokers in London and the South East.
Shrena Joined octane Capital in March 2020 as a Senior BDM for London and South East with the challenge to increase and grow broker engagement in the area.
Her vast experience working with Key introducers and structuring property deals has been highlighted with the completion of Octanes Largest loan in 2021.
Mark has been working in specialist finance for 10 years. He started his career with Borro, lending on luxury assets, before moving into property with Castle Trust.
He relishes problem solving meaning he is well placed to deal with our wide-open criteria and the smorgasbord of enquiries that Octane attracts.
Lee’s career in the property finance sector began in 2015. He joined Octane from Shawbrook Bank where he spent nearly 9 years and held a variety of positions – across governance, underwriting and sales. His most recent position in the firm was Head of Internal Sales where he managed a team of 10 Internal Business Development Managers.
Lee enjoys managing relationships his brokers, ensuring they receive the best possible service.
Katy has worked within the property finance industry for over 14 years. She started her career in the sector with Nationwide in various roles including Underwriting. She also spent 5 years as a mortgage adviser in both employed and self-employed roles, before moving into Business Development in 2018.
Her career in sales has spanned roles with NatWest and most recently Catalyst Property Finance, before joining Octane in April 2024.
Katy is responsible for managing face-to-face relationships with Octane’s brokers across the country.
Darren started his career in specialist mortgages in 2003, when he joined a mortgage packager specialising in complex BTL. Over the last 20 years, he has held a number of positions within broker firms; most recently as a Broker Support Manager for Brilliant Solutions, where he mainly dealt with specialist BTL, 2ndcharges, bridging and commercial.
In 2023 he joined Octane as an Internal Business Development Manager. Darren is responsible for providing telephone-based support to Octane’s brokers.
Matheus’ career journey began as a salesman. In 2020 he joined the financial sector at a building society, where he progressed from the customer support team to an underwriter’s assistant. In those 4 years Matheus gained vital industry knowledge as well as becoming CeMAP qualified.
He Joined Octane in 2024 looking to make a positive impact. Matheus is responsible for providing telephone-based support for Octane’s brokers.
