Bridging Finance – Asset Relationship Manager

Ultimate Finance; Manchester; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual salary reviews

Performance-related bonus scheme

25 days’ annual leave

Generous pension scheme contributions

Private medical insurance

Hybrid working opportunities

Role-based learning pathways

Give a Day volunteering opportunities

Staff discount at Mitchells & Butler

Job summary

Ultimate Finance is seeking an Asset Relationship Manager to oversee bridging facilities from completion through to redemption, delivering proactive relationship management and risk oversight for a portfolio including development and refurbishment projects.

The role requires close collaboration with Sales, Underwriting, Credit and Recoveries to support borrowers’ exit strategies and ensure successful funding outcomes in a fast-paced lending environment.

Qualifications

• Experience within bridging finance and development finance.
• Strong understanding of property-backed lending and borrower covenants.
• Excellent relationship management skills with borrowers and intermediaries.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of bridging, refurbishment and development facilities from completion to redemption.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of each customer, project and exit strategy.
• Monitor facility performance against budgets and credit parameters.
• Ensure post-completion conditions and information requirements are met.
• Develop asset strategies for facilities within the portfolio.
• Identify and manage emerging risks and potential delays.

Skills

Relationship-led

Commercially minded

Portfolio management

Credit risk

Job description

Bridging Finance – Asset Relationship Manager

Manchester - Bridging Finance

Overview

Why choose Ultimate Finance?

At Ultimate Finance, we back ambition – properly. We’re a specialist lender built for pace, flexibility and real-world problem solving, helping businesses access funding that fits how they work. You’ll join a team of approachable experts who move quickly, speak clearly and take pride in doing the right thing for customers and partners. We trust people to take ownership, with supportive leaders and experienced teammates on hand. With 20+ years’ experience and over £19bn funded, we’re growing – and we’re looking for people who want to do work that matters.

About the role

At Ultimate Finance, Bridging Asset Relationship Managers play a critical role in supporting customers after their facility has completed, helping to ensure facilities are managed proactively from drawdown through to successful redemption.

You’ll manage a portfolio of bridging, refurbishment, development exit, and development finish and exit facilities, acting as the main relationship owner once a facility is live. The role combines relationship management, portfolio oversight, asset monitoring and risk management to deliver positive customer outcomes while protecting Ultimate Finance’s position.

Working closely with Sales, Underwriting, Credit, Operations and Recoveries teams, you’ll support borrowers throughout the lifecycle of their facility. You’ll focus on understanding customers’ objectives, supporting their exit strategy, identifying opportunities for repeat business, and making sure risks are identified and managed early.

This is an important role within Ultimate Finance’s relationship-led approach to lending, balancing excellent customer service with disciplined portfolio management, prudent risk oversight and strong commercial awareness.

About the team

The Bridging Operations team is responsible for the proactive management of completed bridging, refurbishment and development-backed facilities, supporting customers from drawdown through to redemption. The team acts as a key relationship point for borrowers and introducers, ensuring each facility is closely monitored, risks are identified early, and customers receive responsive, solutions-focused support throughout the lifecycle of their funding.

By working closely with Sales, Underwriting, Credit, Recoveries and external advisers, Bridging Operations helps deliver a seamless customer journey while maintaining strong portfolio control, effective governance and disciplined risk oversight.

Key responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of bridging, refurbishment and development facilities from completion through to redemption.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of each customer, project, security structure and agreed exit strategy.
• Monitor facility performance against approved credit parameters, business plans, valuation assumptions and funding purposes.
• Ensure all post-completion conditions, undertakings and ongoing information requirements are received and maintained.
• Develop and regularly review individual asset strategies for all facilities within the portfolio.
• Proactively identify and manage emerging risks, including programme delays, cost overruns, planning issues, contractor performance concerns, valuation movements and exit challenges.
• Ensure all customer interactions, actions and portfolio updates are accurately recorded within internal systems.

CUSTOMER & INTERMEDIARY RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

• Act as the primary contact for customers following completion of their facility.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with borrowers, brokers and professional introducers, reflecting Ultimate Finance’s relationship-driven approach.
• Conduct regular customer reviews to understand project progress, future funding requirements and wider property investment plans.
• Deliver a high-quality customer experience through proactive communication and responsive relationship management.
• Identify opportunities for repeat borrowing and work collaboratively with Business Development Managers to support future lending opportunities.
• Promote customer retention through consistent engagement and a strong understanding of customers’ long-term funding requirements.

DEVELOPMENT MONITORING & DRAWDOWN OVERSIGHT

• Oversee refurbishment and development-backed facilities throughout construction and exit phases.
• Review monitoring surveyor reports, recommendations and drawdown requests.
• Assess drawdown applications against approved budgets, build progress and facility terms.
• Monitor cost-to-complete positions and overall project viability.
• Challenge variances from approved business plans and elevate concerns where appropriate.
• Maintain effective relationships with monitoring surveyors, valuers, quantity surveyors, contractors and other professional advisers.
• Undertake site visits where required to support effective portfolio oversight and relationship management.

EXIT STRATEGY MANAGEMENT

• Maintain a continuous focus on exit planning across the portfolio.
• Engage customers early regarding refinancing, sales activity and redemption plans.
• Monitor market conditions that may affect exit viability.
• Work collaboratively with customers and brokers to identify solutions where exit strategies become challenged.
• Drive timely redemptions and minimise extension requests or loan overruns through proactive engagement.

RISK MANAGEMENT & ENHANCED MONITORING

• Identify facilities requiring enhanced oversight, watchlist status or escalation.
• Prepare high-quality portfolio reviews, risk assessments and recommendations for internal governance forums.
• Manage cases experiencing delays, covenant breaches or emerging signs of stress.
• Work closely with Credit, Recoveries, Legal and external advisers where heightened risk management is required.
• Contribute to strategies that maximise recoveries and minimise potential losses.
• Ensure all material risks are identified, documented and escalated in line with Ultimate Finance policies and delegated authorities.

COLLABORATION & STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

• Partner closely with Underwriting, Credit, Business Development, Operations and Recoveries teams to deliver a seamless customer journey.
• Participate in structured case handovers from origination through to portfolio management.
• Share insight on customer behaviour, market trends and portfolio performance.
• Contribute to ongoing improvements in lending processes, customer journeys and risk management practices.
• Support portfolio reviews, hindsight exercises and continuous improvement initiatives.

REPORTING & GOVERNANCE

• Maintain accurate records of customer engagement, risk assessments and asset strategies.
• Produce portfolio reporting covering facility performance, development progress, risk exposure and key trends.
• Prepare updates for portfolio reviews, management forums and credit committees.
• Ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with Ultimate Finance policies, delegated authorities, governance frameworks and regulatory requirements.
• Support audit, compliance and monitoring activities as required.

Characteristics & Behaviours

• Relationship-led and passionate about delivering excellent customer outcomes.
• Commercially minded with a balanced approach to risk and reward.
• Proactive, organised and solutions-focused.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Confident communicator able to build credibility with customers, brokers and internal stakeholders.
• Resilient and adaptable in a fast-paced lending environment.
• Collaborative team player who contributes positively across departments.
• Committed to embodying Ultimate Finance’s values and delivering consistently high standards of service.

Key skills and knowledge

• Experience within bridging finance, development finance, specialist property lending, portfolio management or asset management.
• Strong understanding of property-backed lending and the UK property market.
• Experience managing refurbishment and development facilities, including interaction with monitoring surveyors and drawdown processes.
• Knowledge of loan documentation, security structures and borrower covenant management.
• Ability to assess exit strategies, refinancing options and project viability.
• Excellent relationship management skills with experience managing professional borrowers and intermediaries.
• Strong commercial judgement balanced with an appreciation of credit and risk principles.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical capabilities and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage a varied portfolio of complex cases while maintaining a customer-focused approach.
• Experience within a specialist property lender, challenger bank or bridging finance provider.
• Exposure to recoveries, restructures or complex loan work-out situations.
• Understanding of planning processes, residential sales markets and developer exit strategies.
• Professional qualifications relating to lending, property, surveying or financial services.
• Experience using CRM and portfolio management systems.

At Ultimate Finance, we believe our people are our greatest asset. That’s why we offer a range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, professional development and work-life balance, including:

• Annual salary reviews
• Performance-related bonus scheme
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing after three years’ service
• Generous pension scheme contributions
• Private medical insurance
• Additional days off for your birthday and Christmas Eve
• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities
• Role-based learning pathways
• Give a Day volunteering opportunities
• Active social committee across all office locations
• 20% staff discount at more than 1,750 Mitchells & Butlers venues across the UK

Please note that if you are successful in receiving an offer of employment from Ultimate Finance, your employment will be conditional upon satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We use a third party provider to conduct the check on our behalf.

*If you send us your CV but your application is unsuccessful, you consent to us keeping a copy of your CV on our records for 6 months. This is so that we can consider you should another role become available which we feel may be suitable for you. Your CV will be permanently deleted after 6 months. If you would rather we did not do this then please do let us know when you submit your CV to us.