Published by Gbaf News
Posted on December 6, 2019
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
In line with ambitions to strengthen its sectoral expertise, Leumi UK announces the appointment of Stephen Welch to its hotel finance team
Stephen Welch
Stephen Welch has been appointed Senior Relationship Manager, Hotel Finance, at multi-specialist bank Leumi UK. Having spent over 30 years in the finance industry, Stephen brings a wealth of experience to the new role and will report directly to Leumi UK’s Head of Hotel Finance, Louise Gillon. He will be responsible for building on the bank’s expertise in the hotel financing space while maintaining its commitment to providing a fast, flexible service – strengthening both new and existing client relationships.
Over the course of his career, Stephen has held senior positions in Real Estate and Hotel Finance with a range of UK and international banks. He most recently served as Relationship Director for Santander’s Corporate & Commercial Banking division, where he co-founded the bank’s Hotel and Leisure team in 2012.
Just before joining the Leumi UK team, seasoned trekker Stephen summited Mt. Toubkal (4,167m) in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and Mt. Kenya’s Point Lenana in Kenya (4,985m).
Stephen’s appointment comes as Leumi UK pursues its business strategy which will see the bank ramp up its efforts to expand an already focused and highly skilled team.
Commenting on the appointment, CBO Andy Mallin says: “We are thrilled that Stephen has joined our hotel finance division as a Senior Relationship Manager. His breadth of experience in the regional and international real estate and hotel finance sectors will be a great asset to the Leumi UK team and will consolidate not only our local expertise, but our continental reach too.”
Stephen adds: “I am delighted to be joining Leumi UK and look forward to building on the bank’s outstanding service offering while maintaining its reputation for fostering long-lasting relationships with clients – helping the bank achieve its growth objectives.”
With a sophisticated specialist offering to development companies, investment funds and owner operators of hotels, Leumi UK’s hotel financing department takes pride in maintaining close relationships with its clients and its ability to address the specific needs of hotel operators and owners in prime city-centre locations across Europe.
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