Brightstar has launched a new division to deal with the growing demand for development finance.

The development finance division will be headed up jointly by Rob Collins and Kit Thompson.

Collins, who also runs the commercial team at Brightstar, has many years of development experience both as a broker and in previous lending roles while Thompson, one of the founders of Brightstar, is also director of its bridging division and has spent the past 15 years working primarily with professional property developers and investors.

Both will be supported by three other team members, all of whom are experienced in the development finance market.

Collins said: “There has been a significant increase in the number of brokers in need of help with development finance cases.

“The sector has moved on a great deal in recent months with new lenders with new propositions appearing almost weekly. The fast changing nature of the market and the increase in demand has created the need for a dedicated Brightstar division to provide a specialist point of contact.

“Development finance is a very specific niche. It takes a specific type of lender to lend on a full scale development and real problems can arise if a client borrows money from a lender that really does not understand what is involved in a full blown development project.

“The expertise of the Brightstar development finance division will ensure that brokers always have access to the best lender and product for their client’s individual circumstances.”