CYNGERY Bank has opened its first office in Scotland as it looks to win business from bigger players.

The lender, which was developed out of the former UK operations of Bank of Cyprus, has opened an office in Edinburgh led by two sector veterans who held senior roles at RBS.

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Kenny Stewart, a former head of Royal Bank’s structure finance business, has joined Cynergy as property finance director.

John Whyte, who was a real estate portfolio director at Royal Bank, has become a relationship director at Cynergy.

The appointments signal confidence in the prospects for the market in Scotland on the part of London-based Cynergy.

This says it serves the blended needs of business owners, property entrepreneurs and family businesses.

Greg Jones, managing director property finance and bridging at Cynergy described Scotland as a dynamic and evolving market.

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Mr Stewart said: “ We know the Scottish market well and believe there is a good opportunity to grow our business, with a focused relationship driven model, which serves the needs of customers in the property finance sector”.

Cynergy was developed by a group of entrepreneurs out of Bank of Cyprus’s UK business, which they bought for £103 million in 2018.

Bank of Cyprus said at the time that the sale was a step in its journey back to health and would allow the group to continue to support the recovery of the Cypriot economy.

Cynergy’s chief executive Nick Fahy said the property and small and medium sized enterprise markets in the UK were underserved.

The owners of Cynergy include cash and carry entrepreneur Pradip Dhamecha and Balbinder Sohal, who founded the SevenCapital property investment business.

Chief financial officer Francesca Hampton had big jobs at RBS and Metro Bank before she joined Cynergy.