Sibner Capital – Head of Lending
Sibner Capital is a fast-growing, family-backed alternative lender operating in the UK real estate debt market. Specialising in bridging and development finance (£1m–£5m tickets, 13-15% all-in), the business has built its reputation on a zero-default, zero-arrears track record. Rockbourne was retained to find its next Head of Lending: the person who would own the entire lending lifecycle, define credit standards, and build the function through its next phase of growth.
The unexpected departure of Sibner's former Head of Lending created an immediate leadership gap at exactly the wrong moment. AUM was scaling rapidly, the investor base was expanding, and the business needed someone who could hit the ground running with no handover period.
The incoming hire needed to stabilise a lean team, maintain the zero-default track record under increased deal volume (30–35 completions per year, 25–30 reviews monthly), embed institutional-grade credit standards, and champion a proprietary digitised lending platform. Technical expertise alone wasn't enough; the role demanded genuine entrepreneurial decisiveness.
We opened with a performance briefing to align all stakeholders on what success looked like, then mapped the market for candidates suited to a high-autonomy, entrepreneurial environment - primarily across real estate debt funds, specialist banks, and alternative lenders. 121 candidates were vetted against agreed essential and desirable criteria, with bespoke technical and behavioural questions covering underwriting, tranche scheduling, and distressed loan management alongside autonomy, commercial pushback, and stakeholder communication.
Rather than a standard job description, we built a bespoke branded microsite in Sibner's own identity, featuring a direct interview with the leadership team, recent news, team profiles, and briefing context. For passive candidates especially, hearing the opportunity articulated by the principals themselves converts meaningfully better than a recruiter pitch alone — and signals a business that takes hiring seriously.
From there, we applied additional screening through a structured homework exercise to test commitment, competency, and quality. Non-starters were removed early, and only candidates clearing all bars were brought forward to Sibner's four-stage process, involving Board Advisors and the Group CEO.
The search was completed successfully. The appointed candidate brought deep real estate debt expertise, sound credit judgement, a technology-forward mindset, and the drive to build a platform rather than simply manage a book. The breadth of market coverage gave Sibner confidence they had found the right person, not just the most available one.
