Mr Harding replaces Holly Morrison, who was Paragon’s BDM covering Scotland before being appointed to a national account manager position.

He joined the England-based bank in 2022 and during that time has worked in the retentions, underwriting and completions teams, providing him with experience across the entire mortgage lifecycle. He holds a business degree from The University of Manchester and completed a business development internship for a start-up educational technology company, alongside his studies.

Mr Harding said: “Having worked at Paragon for a couple of years, I’ve been able to hit the ground running.

“I’m looking forward to branching out all over Scotland and building relationships with intermediaries of all sizes, supporting landlords in the country to provide much-needed new rental homes.”

Louisa Sedgwick, Paragon Bank’s commercial director for mortgages, added: “James is a fantastic addition to the team. He is well-placed to help our broker partners in Scotland get applications over the line.”