Dixon steps up at regional lender
FW Capital has promoted Chris Dixon to fund manager in its North East property team, replacing the retiring Tony Cullen.
Cullen steps down from the role after eight years at FW Capital and more than 32 years in financial services.
FW said that Dixon’s promotion comes at a key point in the firm’s support for local developers following the success of the North East Property Fund, North East Commercial Property Investment Fund and the Teesside Flexible Investment Fund.
Dixon has worked at FW Capital for three years, after joining from Allied Irish Bank (GB), where he spent six years as head of the North East business centre in Newcastle, and six years as regional hewad of property for Scotland and the North East.
He has 28 years’ financial services experience specialising in property development and will continue to support developers seeking finance for residential and commercial projects across Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham and Teesside.
Dixon, now property fund manager at FW Capital, said: “It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside Tony and I’m looking forward to continuing his legacy supporting property developers across the North East.
“Stepping into his shoes is a big task, but I’ve got the support of my fantastic colleagues at FW Capital. Our appetite remains strong to plug the funding gap for residential and commercial property across the North East.
“We’re helping developers navigate and overcome challenges and through our investments we are achieving what the funds are designed to do. This is illustrated by the diverse range of developments we have supported, from small residential sites to large commercial sites.”
Joanne Whitfield, fund director at FW Capital, added: “This is a fantastic step forward for Chris, who is the perfect fit to take over the property fund manager role. His vision for the funds we manage will be instrumental as we see continued strong demand for investment from local property developers.
“Tony did a fantastic job of building FW Capital’s brand in property development finance in the North East and I am very grateful to him for all his hard work to determination.
“His departure marks the end of an era, but his legacy will continue to support North East developers and influence FW Capital’s future trajectory for many more years to come. Tony has been a leader whose vision has been instrumental to the success of the North East property team and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”
The £35m North East Commercial Investment Property Fund offers loans with a maximum loan facility of £7m for grade A commercial developments in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, and County Durham.
The North East Property Fund provides loans from £250,000 up to £2m for residential and non-speculative commercial developments in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, and County Durham.
Both are managed by FW Capital and backed by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.
The Teesside Flexible Investment Fund is a £20m fund to support economic development in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees through a mix of finance to support buying a business, property funding and bond finance.
It is backed by investment from FW Capital and the Teesside Pension Fund and delivers loans of £100,000 to £3m to enterprises making an economic impact in Teesside.
