In the latest in our series of short interviews, we speak to Portfolio Manager, Josh Pedder, about his career to date and how he supports Paragon’s clients. 

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to join Paragon? 

I graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2016 with a law degree and started my career as a paralegal, focusing on construction disputes, before switching to development finance. Property development has always been a sector of the market that I have been interested in and I find it particularly rewarding to support SME developers to bring their designs out of the ground and produce a quality end product, delivering much needed new homes to the UK market. After two years with Pivot Finance, I joined Paragon’s Development Finance team in January 2020. 

What is your role at Paragon and how do you support customers? 

My role as Portfolio Manager involves supporting customers throughout the loan due diligence and execution process, and then throughout the life of the loan - from monthly build drawdowns through to release of the Bank’s security once the completed units have been built and sold. 

Working closely with our panel of surveyors and solicitors, as well as Paragon’s internal Credit team, the aim is to make the underwriting process as quick and as smooth as possible for our SME developer clients, giving them access to funds to enable quick acquisition of target sites. 

Ensuring that build drawdowns are paid on the same day that we receive the project monitoring surveyor’s report is also a key focus, as is working together with clients should unexpected delays or cost overruns be encountered. 

Can you tell us about any interesting projects you have worked on? 

In the last month we have completed loans to assist our clients with the conversion of a former warehouse building in Chelmsford into 68 flats, a development of 52 new build flats in Kent, a 10 unit scheme in East London, a five barn conversion scheme near Norwich and a development of three new houses in a village in Hertfordshire. At the moment we have 10 new deals in due diligence, so there is always something new and interesting going on!  

It’s great to be involved in a variety of projects, from small housing schemes to large apartment blocks, with each presenting its own unique challenges. 

What are your interests outside of work? 

I enjoy cycling and hiking (albeit less consistently since lockdown lifted!) and am a keen scuba diver when in a more tropical corner of the world!