Steve Sealey joins son’s finance venture

Hope Capital, the short-term property bridging finance company, has appointed Steve Sealey as chairman.

Sealey commented "I am delighted to be joining the board of Hope Capital as chairman, and look forward to providing strategic guidance and governance for the company and its board of directors. Joining a company set up by my son Jonathan now makes this a real family orientated proposition for both of us going forward.

"Since Hope Capital was founded, I have been encouraged by the increase in deal flow and the growth of the Bridging Finance sector in general. I feel that Hope Capital have a tremendous future ahead of them given the fact the banks seem to be closed to property developers and investors.

"Hope Capital's viewpoint on each transaction will stand them good stead for the future, and Hope Capital is now well and truly open for business to provide entrepreneurial short term finance to those who the banks have closed their doors to."

Jonathan Sealey, chief executive of Hope Capital, was previously a surveyor at Maghull Developments. He said: "We entered the market about 18 months ago, and have grown significantly over this period. Bringing in a Chairman of Steve's calibre will only go to reinforce the message that we are now a serious player in the Bridging Finance market."

Steve Sealey was a founding director of AM Paper Group, the Skelmersdale-based tissue manufacturing company sold in 2000 for £200m.