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Our people

Meet the 
team at Mera

“Our people are our greatest asset, they are committed to exceeding expectations, creating value for our clients and building long term relationships"
Jan Fletcher OBE
Chairman

The team at MERA has over 200 years experience providing real estate structured finance solutions and operating at the highest possible level.

Edward Matthews

Chief Executive Officer
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Edward Matthews
Chief Executive Officer
edward@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
Mobile: 
07917 700595

Edward is CEO of MERA IM and has been an active real estate lender in the UK since 2007, completing over £700m of real estate transactions. He is one of the 4 voting members of the credit committee and a board director.

His primary role is to grow our core lending department, create new business lines and build talented teams.

Edward started his career at HBOS plc in 2007 in the real estate corporate banking mid-markets team. He went on to join Bank of London & The Middle East plc (BLME) in 2009 where he was one of the most active real estate development lenders in London.

Edward moved to Topland Group in 2012, one of the UKs largest privately owned investment groups. Whilst at Topland, Edward deployed £450m of capital across +60 loans, secured against a wide variety of assets valued in excess of £750m.

Jan Fletcher OBE

Chairman
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Jan Fletcher OBE
Chairman
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
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As Chairman of Mera IM, Jan leads the board and is involved in making strategic corporate decisions, advising on growth and M&A opportunities and guiding the company to increase it’s shareholder value.

Jan is acknowledged as one of the top UK entrepreneurs. She has successfully owned and operated a large number of businesses in sectors as diverse as property investment and development, restaurants, motor retailing, nutrition and wellness, financial services and publishing. Jan has also held a number of non-executive director positions in both financial services and media companies. Currently, she holds chairman or director roles in UK and US based companies.

Jan has a strong track record of helping to steer growth, developing investment strategies and overseeing both M&A activity and corporate governance. Jan was awarded an OBE for Services to Industry in 1997 and named Veuve Clicquot British Business Woman of the Year in 1994. She was also an appointed Government advisor as a member of The UK Secretary of State for Business Entrepreneur's Forum (BIS) in 2010.

www.janfletcher.com

Frank Pennal

Non-Executive Director
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Frank Pennal
Non-Executive Director
frank@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
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Frank is one of the most experienced property finance business leaders in the UK.

He has led a distinguished career in banking and finance and provides strategic guidance and oversight to Mera IM and it’s board of directors, drawing on the experiences gained from his 19-year tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of the Close Brothers Property Finance Division (part of Close Brothers Group Plc a FTSE 250 Company).

Frank was instrumental in guiding the bank through numerous market cycles, demonstrating his strong commitment to leadership, unwavering customer service, and adherence to core values.  He was instrumental in growing the loan book from £150m to £1.7bn and the company has become well regarded to be best in the market for service driven operation.  

After nearly three decades of service, Frank retired from Close Brothers in December 2023 and joined Mera IM as a Non-Executive Director and Strategic Advisor. He is responsible for supporting the board’s strategic growth plans, including acquiring new talent, building new departments and broadening the capital base.

Neil Smillie

Non-Executive Director
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Neil Smillie
Non-Executive Director
neil@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
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Neil brings strategic and financial expertise to the board of Directors. He has held chief executive, financial director and non-executive director roles in: commercial and residential property development, commercial property investment, financial services and motor retailing. Neil is an approved ‘Controlled Person’ with the Financial Conduct Authority.

Paul Bembridge FCMA, MRICS

Finance Director
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Paul Bembridge FCMA, MRICS
Finance Director
paul@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
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Paul has over 20 years’ experience in European real estate and finance.  He qualified as an accountant in 2003 and as a chartered surveyor in 2018 and has worked for a number of institutional investment managers across key European markets.

Paul has a strong financial background and has held senior positions at a number of dynamic organisations, beginning his career at Somerset House before enjoying spells at significant real estate institutions including, CBRE, Cromwell, Fidelity, M&G and LaSalle Investment Management.  He spent seven years with SEGRO as Finance Director for the SELP portfolio where he was responsible for building the finance function in Luxembourg and overseeing a substantial portfolio of logistics assets.  Paul has provided input into numerous large scale real estate projects and managed and developed finance teams across a number of key markets.

He has operated from a number of key European locations including London, Paris, Luxembourg and Germany and supported the management and growth of pan-European real estate portfolios.

Starting Soon

Director of Portfolio Management, Capital & Reporting
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Starting Soon
Director of Portfolio Management, Capital & Reporting
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Andy Blenkinsop

Chief Risk Officer
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Andy Blenkinsop
Chief Risk Officer
andy@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
Mobile: 
07815 746809

Andy manages Mera IM’s credit risk and is one of the 4 voting members of the credit committee.

He has a 42 year career in Property Finance and Corporate Banking. This includes 21 years with Barclays working in Corporate Finance, Internal audit and cumulating in relocating to Guernsey to finance Trust Companies and HNW property investors. This was followed by a move to HBOS, heading a field based team and then a move to GMAC RFC to establish a residential development finance division.

In 2010 he co-founded Pluto Finance, a development debt platform funded by a number of global and London based asset managers which has deployed over £1bn in lending. Retired as a partner of Pluto in 2020, he has since worked with several finance providers advising on risk management and credit assessment.

Prabhat Talwar

Associate - Credit & Capital
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Prabhat Talwar
Associate - Credit & Capital
prabhat@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
Mobile: 
07403 866679

Prabhat (Prabh) handles credit underwriting, deal execution and portfolio management at Mera.

Prabh started his career in 2018 at Aspen Bridging as a Graduate underwriter and quickly rose through the ranks to become a Senior underwriter and Loans Manager. At Aspen, his primary focus was on origination, deal execution, and portfolio management. He later worked for Pluto Finance in 2022, an institutionally funded private debt fund specialising in development finance and providing bridging and investment facilities. At Pluto, his primary responsibilities included credit underwriting and deal execution.

Prabh is CFA Level 1 qualified, holds a BSc (Hons) in Finance from Aston University, and has a Level 3 certificate in Investment and Securities from CISI.

James Fenwick

Senior Analyst - Origination
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James Fenwick
Senior Analyst - Origination
james@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
Mobile: 
07818 040862

At Mera IM, James leads our origination activities and manages the execution of all new real estate loans and Joint Venture investments.

James joined the team from a Real Estate credit investment manager focused on development finance strategies. He was responsible for originating and underwriting tailored facilities for residential developers across the UK. Prior to this, James worked in Real Estate asset management where he was responsible for managing the property portfolios of UK and international private UHNW clients.

James holds a BSc Honours Degree in Real Estate from the University of Reading.

Caron Schreuder

PR & Marketing Manager
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Caron Schreuder
PR & Marketing Manager
caron@meraim.co.uk
Landline: 
0207 569 6835
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Caron is responsible for strategically and effectively managing Mera IM’s presence in the market, and the communication of our vision to our stakeholders and investors. Her network and understanding of the industry plays an important part in our growth ambitions.

Formerly the managing director of a prominent B2B property finance publishing company, Caron has been immersed in the world of broker, lender, and client marketing and communications for 13 years

She has launched and run a trade show, several websites and countless marketing campaigns within the real estate lending market, and co-created the Bridging & Commercial Magazine, widely considered the best in its class.

Her extensive experience traverses the residential, commercial and development sectors, encompassing a diverse range of asset classes.  

Caron is the founder of Long Storey Short, a specialist property finance PR and marketing consultancy.

Careers

We are always on the lookout for new talented individuals

If you are diligent, driven and ethical, and have a genuine interest in developing or progressing a career within real estate finance and investment then we want to hear from you.

Information on the available opportunities can be found below or on our LinkedIn page.