Meet the Real Estate Finance Team

Our dedicated real estate finance team are here to get your next project off the ground. Committed to building relationships set for success, we handle every aspect of your investment or development journey and offer tailored advice designed around your ambitions.

John Griffin

Managing Director

John joined Secure Trust Bank in February 2019 following 12 years at the Royal Bank of Scotland, working exclusively within the real estate sector.

His last role was as a Relationship Director within Williams&Glyn, a division of RBS, managing a portfolio of 15 real estate clients with a £400m lending portfolio. He specialised in providing real estate funding solutions of £5m - £50m per transaction for Family Offices, Plc's, property funds and standalone Special Purpose Vehicles across all sectors.

John joined Secure Trust Bank due to its ambition to grow and ability to support clients through swift credit decisions and ability to deliver with a small and agile team. John's spare time is taken up by his young family and attending games at Chelsea FC when time allows.

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Ben Hodis

Head of Origination

Ben joined Secure Trust Bank in 2022 as a Relationship Director. Ben was appointed as Head of Origination in March 2025. Ben has two decades of real estate lending experience alongside a period conducting client facing broking.

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David Burke

Head of Relationship Management

David has been a Relationship Director with Secure Trust Bank since July 2019. He has held various roles at Natwest RBS & Nationwide Building Society including credit underwriting and relationship management in London and the South East.

David works as part of our Reading office supporting small-to-medium sized residential house-builders in the South of England. He is a Chartered Banker ACIB and holds a degree in Financial Services.

After many years at Natwest RBS, David decided to move to Secure Trust Bank due to the opportunity to support the growth of a new team dedicated to supporting small house builders. When not in work, David enjoys spending time with friends and family, and is a campervan owner.

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Barry Gorton

Head of Portfolio Management

Barry joined Secure Trust Bank as a Senior Relationship Director in the Real Estate Finance team in January 2019.

With over 15 years' experience in Real Estate Finance, working for, amongst others, Helaba, Santander and Bank of Cyprus, he has structured complex investment and development transactions covering all sectors of the real estate industry, from residential, student accommodation, offices, retail and data centres. He joined Secure Trust Bank to be part of a dynamic team who understand real estate fundamentals and are able to assess deals on their merits, structuring them on an individual basis while working closely with clients to achieve the best outcome for all.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, driving his kids to the many activities they undertake and watching and participating in all things sport related.

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Relationship Directors

Alan Coleman

Relationship Director

Alan joined Secure Trust Bank in March 2025 as a Relationship Director. Alan has 9 years of Real Estate Lending experience including investment, development and bridging.

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Raminder Dhillon

Relationship Director

Raminder has been with Secure Trust Bank since September 2017 and has a wealth of experience in Real Estate Finance, having spent over 20 years with NatWest/RBS Group. Raminder works in our Reading office supporting residential and commercial investors and developers.

Raminder has extensive experience in supporting residential development schemes and residential investments. She holds a Certificate in Real Estate Finance and a Diploma in Lending Skills from the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Raminder joined Secure Trust Bank as it is a small experienced team, looking to grow, where decisions are made quickly. There is strong appetite to support Real Estate Investors and developers with innovative funding solutions.

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Evo Evagora

Senior Relationship Director

Evo has been working at Secure Trust Bank for 5 years. He joined from NatWest, where he was employed in the Commercial Real Estate team for 7 years. Prior to working at NatWest, he spent 9 years at Alpha Bank London Ltd where he was involved in larger real estate investment and development transactions.

He joined Secure Trust Bank to be part of a dynamic business with a good understanding of real estate lending. He has enjoyed seeing the business, and his clients, grow during his time at the bank. In his spare time, he enjoys playing racketball and boxing to keep fit.

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Mike Feasey

Relationship Director

Mike joined Secure Trust Bank as a Relationship Director in March 2022 from Handelsbanken where he held various roles, latterly a senior corporate manager.

He works as part of the Reading-based team supporting investors and developers across the Thames Valley, Midlands, South and West and has experience across a range of asset classes and client types.

Mike joined Secure Trust Bank as he was keen to join a growing and ambitious bank. He enjoys working with real estate investors, structuring deals to support them with their goals.

When not in work, Mike spends his time playing golf, in the gym, watching football or walking his dog.

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David Harvey

Relationship Director

David has been a Relationship Director at Secure Trust Bank since July 2019. David works in our Reading office and supports small-to-medium sized residential developers and property investors across England and Wales.

He spent 6 years working for Principality Building Society where he dealt with a large and complex property portfolio comprising both investment and development clients in England and South Wales. Prior to joining Principality he spent 12 years working for Israel Discount Bank who were based in the West End of London and again he managed a large property portfolio.

David made the move to Secure Trust Bank because of his desire to take on a new and challenging role which enables him to continue to support property developers in England and Wales. When not working David enjoys playing golf when the weather permits and supports Arsenal.

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Paul Keeping

Senior Relationship Director

Paul has been with Secure Trust Bank since 2016 having amassed 33 years of banking experience at NatWest / RBS prior to this.

Within the last 20 years' of his time at NatWest, he focused on roles within the commercial/ mid-corporate real estate space providing funding solutions for property developers and investors.

Paul has extensive experience in supporting residential development schemes from small bespoke developments to larger house builders and student schemes across London and the South East.

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Richard Lynn

Senior Relationship Director

Richard joined Secure Trust Bank in 2017 and has over 28 years' experience in the finance industry, with the last 12 years' focusing on property finance, principally at RBS.

During his time at RBS, Richard achieved top net lender in London, Business Banking Real Estate. He has significant expertise in relationship management and has been involved in house building and gained valuable property development experience.

Richard came to Secure Trust Bank to join a proactive lender who makes commercially-led lending decisions.

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Richard Nowell

Senior Relationship Director

Richard has been a Senior Relationship Director at Secure Trust Bank since 2015. He has held various regional Real Estate Finance roles within the Thames Valley and South West of England having spent 26 years with NatWest RBS. Richard works in our Reading office and leads our support of small-to-medium sized residential developers.

Throughout his career he has achieved numerous professional qualifications, including the Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Business & Financial Management both from the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland.

After many years with a high street lender Richard made the move to Secure Trust Bank with the challenge of moulding and shaping a new real estate division at a challenger bank. When not working Richard likes to spend a lot of his time in Cornwall and is a keen rugby fan.

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John O'Leary

Senior Relationship Director

John has been a Senior Relationship Director at Secure Trust Bank since January 2015. He has held various Real Estate Finance roles initially in Edinburgh and then London & South East having spent seven years with Bank of Scotland and latterly six years at Natwest Bank.

John works in our Reading office and supports small-to-medium sized residential developers across the South of the UK. John has a Certificate in Business Studies with Computer Applications.

After many years with a high street lender John made the move to Secure Trust Bank because he wanted to work for a challenger bank and to provide much needed financial support for property developers and investors. When not working John likes to spend a lot of his time with his family, boxing training and walking his dogs.

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David Riggs

Relationship Director

David brings with him over a decade of banking experience, which has seen him specialise in retail, commercial and, for the past five years, real estate finance. Throughout this time, he has developed a strong understanding of banking processes, procedures, credit application writing and client relationship management.

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Danny Thornton

Relationship Director

Danny has been working at Secure Trust Bank since early 2015 when he joined as a new deal co-ordinator. The following year, Danny was promoted to the role of Relationship Manager, giving him the opportunity to focus on sourcing and managing new lending opportunities. Subsequently he was promoted again in early 2019 to his current role of Relationship Director.

Before his career at Secure Trust Bank, he worked for over 16 years at NatWest, with a majority spent working within the real estate finance team specialising in residential and commercial investment & development. Prior to this, Danny worked for a building contractor and gained on-site building experience.

In his spare time, Danny enjoys playing and watching sports and holds a black belt in judo (being a former national bronze medallist).

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