Puma Property Finance has today announced that Senior Manager, Sarah Milne has been appointed as the business’s first Head of Impact. This new role reflects Puma’s continued commitment to encouraging sustainability in the construction industry through its ongoing partnership with UCL’s Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction and recent launch of its Impact Lending Framework.

In the newly created role, Sarah will lead on Puma’s latest ESG initiative – the Impact Lending Framework – and will be responsible for the business’s impact lending and ESG strategy moving forward. The Framework has been established to provide direct financial benefits to property developers across the UK who are implementing measures in their vision and designs that deliver meaningful and impactful change.

Sarah has over ten years of experience within the property finance sector, including roles at Merchant Place and The Property Loan Box Company. Sarah joined Puma in 2019 as a Manager and was quickly promoted to Senior Manager before spearheading the business’ ESG-initiative and now taking on the role of Head of Impact.

Paul Frost, Managing Director of Puma Property Finance, said of the appointment:

“Our business continues to grow in exciting and innovative ways, with the last 12 months including our biggest single property finance transaction to date and the launch of our new Impact Lending Framework, which Sarah was the driving force behind. We are immensely proud of the Framework, which is the result of many months of thought and consultation, and Sarah’s continued passion was evident throughout the process. 

“We take our environmental and social responsibilities very seriously at Puma.  We believe that property lenders, particularly those such as ourselves who concentrate on development finance, are uniquely placed to incentivise the adoption of more sustainable and impactful practices within our industry.  That makes it the perfect time for the appointment of our first Head of Impact. I have no doubt that the experience and passion that Sarah will bring to this role will help us to meet our ambitious goals.”

Sarah Milne, Head of Impact and Senior Manager, said of the appointment: 

“Puma is committed to supporting and encouraging the development of more sustainable and socially impactful schemes across the UK as we put a spotlight on the potential impact the property finance sector can have on the built environment. I’m very excited to be stepping into this new role to focus on our recently launched Impact Lending Framework and our wider impact strategy and partnerships, including our ongoing relationship with UCL’s Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction.

“We have some interesting projects coming up and I’m looking forward to seeing how our Framework evolves as we continue to receive lots of positive feedback from clients on this new initiative.”

For more information on the Puma Property Finance Impact Lending Framework, read more here.