Barry Searle Email & Phone Number

Guildford, England, United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

Castle Trust is an established financial services firm, backed by leading international investor J.C. Flowers, that has brought innovative investment and loan products to the UK marketplace. Appointed in May 2014 as Chief Operating Officer, main responsibilities are oversight of the Operations which includes Mortgages, point of sale consumer lending and Investments. The role also includes responsibility for IT and HR.Have held the regulated position of CF10a and MLRO.In… Show more Castle Trust is an established financial services firm, backed by leading international investor J.C. Flowers, that has brought innovative investment and loan products to the UK marketplace. Appointed in May 2014 as Chief Operating Officer, main responsibilities are oversight of the Operations which includes Mortgages, point of sale consumer lending and Investments. The role also includes responsibility for IT and HR.Have held the regulated position of CF10a and MLRO.In sourced the investment administration platform saving £1 million a year in outsourced costs. Integrated the point of sale consumer lending company into the existing infrastructure saving £.5 million, in costs a year.Key areas of focus; Operational control, Operational efficiency, project management, , cost management, budgetary control, designing and building software solutions, managing third parties, stakeholder management, board member, staff recruitment, strategic planning, , board committee member risk and audit, FCA approved person, operating policies and procedures, outsourcer selection, negotiating contracts. Show less

London, United Kingdom

Appointed COO to establish the operational structure for a separate Mortgage Lending division within Legal & General. Ensured that the central services of IT & HR were fully utilised & the division was fully integrated within L& G. The delivery had to be regulatory compliant with the mortgage asset of the correct quality to maximize profit for the annuity fund. It also needed to deliver speed & certainty of underwriting decisions which is currently not available in the UK Mortgage Market.… Show more Appointed COO to establish the operational structure for a separate Mortgage Lending division within Legal & General. Ensured that the central services of IT & HR were fully utilised & the division was fully integrated within L& G. The delivery had to be regulatory compliant with the mortgage asset of the correct quality to maximize profit for the annuity fund. It also needed to deliver speed & certainty of underwriting decisions which is currently not available in the UK Mortgage Market. FCA approved in the significant Influence function for COO for a Mortgage Lender.Obtained full group board approval to submit a FCA mortgage application in April 2013. FCA confirmed in Oct 2013 subject to end to end testing they are minded to approve Legal & General as a Mortgage Lender.Key areas of focus; Operational control, project management, due diligence, cost management, budgetary control, designing and building software solutions, managing third parties, stakeholder management, board member, staff recruitment, strategic planning, startup controls, board committee member, FCA application preparation, FCA liaison, operating policies and procedures, outsourcer selection, negotiating contracts. Show less

Farnborough

Portillion was established to meet the (post financial crisis) needs for mortgage finance in the UK. An experienced consortium was brought together to form the company based on a licensed deposit bank model. The appointed Chairman being the Ex Director General of the FSA.£75m of working capital was raised to fund the venture through Rothschild’s family interests & the SBI Group from Japan.Appointed COO responsible for HR, IT & Operations. The remit to establish a “best in class”… Show more Portillion was established to meet the (post financial crisis) needs for mortgage finance in the UK. An experienced consortium was brought together to form the company based on a licensed deposit bank model. The appointed Chairman being the Ex Director General of the FSA.£75m of working capital was raised to fund the venture through Rothschild’s family interests & the SBI Group from Japan.Appointed COO responsible for HR, IT & Operations. The remit to establish a “best in class” customer centric mortgage origination system, incorporating the highest standard risk & fraud controls.Key areas of focus: Capital raising via private equity, investor management ,operational control, project management, due diligence, cost management, budgetary control, designing and building software solutions, managing third parties, stakeholder management, board member, staff recruitment, strategic planning, startup controls, board committee member, FCA application preparation and liaison. Show less

Bracknell

Subsidiary of General Motors Corporation which launched into the UK Mortgage Market in 1998. By 2006 it had grown to the 10th largest mortgage lender in the UK lending £12bn.The workforce grew to 1200 over 3 sites. The company won numerous Industry awards during this period for service & innovation. Main board member in the UK & member of Risk & Audit committee. European board member. Reporting to the CEO in the UK & US parent company.Responsibility for IT/HR/Facilities &… Show more Subsidiary of General Motors Corporation which launched into the UK Mortgage Market in 1998. By 2006 it had grown to the 10th largest mortgage lender in the UK lending £12bn.The workforce grew to 1200 over 3 sites. The company won numerous Industry awards during this period for service & innovation. Main board member in the UK & member of Risk & Audit committee. European board member. Reporting to the CEO in the UK & US parent company.Responsibility for IT/HR/Facilities & Operations. Staff of 700 & OPEX budget of £25m.Oversight of New Business mortgage processing & third party administration which generated over £20bn of mortgage assets 2000-2006.Achieved 100% year on year volume growth underpinned with a modest 30% increase in costs.Designed & acquired board approval for the implementation of the first automated point of sale mortgage decision system in the UK - further development of the system included POS offer. This reduced the mortgage application to offer timescale from an industry norm of 20 working days to a market leading 30 minutes.This delivered the best service standard in the market and the technology was subsequently copied by other UK mortgage lenders.Led work streams to stabilise the IT platform & develop a long term IT strategy to deliver business goals.Devised the HR talent strategy to position the business as an employer of choice, through application to the Sunday Times, Top 100 Companies. Achieved a top 50 place on first application.Key areas of focus: Strategy, main board member, risk committee, alco committee , Leadership operations, facilities , IT and HR, opex/capex, talent management, system implementation, global outsourcing, market development, operational efficiency, cost reduction, profit growth, industry awards, product innovation, global leaders forum, mergers and acquisitions, business transformation, project delivery. Show less

Bracknell

Responsible for a rebranding exercise to repositioned GMAC-RFC in the lending marketplace.Headed up a team to complete the strategic purchase of a number of companies in the UK, to increase distribution channels.Part of team that researched buying business in India and helped to set up Australian business.Restructured the Marketing department integrating into the Sales department, to enhance the corporate vision and maximise efficiency. This led to significant cost… Show more Responsible for a rebranding exercise to repositioned GMAC-RFC in the lending marketplace.Headed up a team to complete the strategic purchase of a number of companies in the UK, to increase distribution channels.Part of team that researched buying business in India and helped to set up Australian business.Restructured the Marketing department integrating into the Sales department, to enhance the corporate vision and maximise efficiency. This led to significant cost savings.Key areas of focus: Customer segmentation, advertising campaign, brand development, PR, media, digital marketing, social media, marketing strategy, agency management, budgetary control, lending innovation, internal/external communications. Show less

Bracknell

Joined as Operations Director following the acquisition of PLMS. Initial remit to review systems/processes to support planned growth & develop a fit for purpose mortgage administration & staff compliment.

Bracknell

PLMS was the largest independently owned UK mortgage packager when it was purchased by GMAC-RFC in 1999, to enable acceleration of their UK operation.Head hunted to set up & manage the mortgage processing centre for an established packager, which included premises identification, IT system design & specification, staff recruitment & implementation of policies & working practices.

Fleet

Held roles from underwriter to managing the project that transitioned MSL to part of Homeloan Management Limited

Thames Valley

Management Trainee 1983 – 1987