Brokers from Newport were among 40 from across the UK who celebrated their role in enabling the niche property bank Cambridge & Counties to lend more than £450m to property investors and owners.

The brokers came from the bank’s key markets based around its offices in Bristol, Sheffield, Leicester, Birmingham and Cambridge.

Local brokers included Simon Harrison, of Flexible Commercial Funding, in Newport, and Howard Bowes and Simon Hodgson, of Harvey Bowes in Newport.

Cambridge & Counties Bank commercial director of real estate Simon Lindley said: “This is the third year we have invited key brokers to join us for an evening celebrating the partnerships which enable clients to access the finance their businesses need.

“It’s those partnerships which have helped the bank grow with such momentum. We are a flexible lender and judge each funding application on its own merits, so working with brokers who also value that personal approach benefits everyone. They also provide invaluable insights for our development of new products, with more to come.”