New business development hire and internal promotion boost deal support
Non-bank property lender First Mortgage Trust (FMT) has strengthened its Auckland team with one new appointment and one internal promotion. The changes take its business development manager (BDM) headcount to five in Auckland and 11 nationally.
Barend Nienaber (pictured left) joins as a BDM, while Adam Richardson (pictured right) has been promoted from loans analyst to associate BDM. FMT said the moves are designed to give mortgage advisers more direct access to credit expertise.
Earlier engagement on deals
FMT national strategic partnership manager Sue Griffiths said the expanded team is intended to help advisers get the right support early in a transaction.
“For advisers, this means more people on the ground to discuss scenarios and help keep deals moving,” she said.
Larger or more complex transactions are handled by Cam McLachlan and Anneka Herdson, who specialise in development funding. The BDMs are supported by lending, administration, and analyst teams from the first conversation through to settlement.
Local relationships at the core
Nienaber arrives with experience in sales, customer relationships, and commercial lending. He said his priority is being a practical first point of contact for advisers working through client funding needs.
“I want to be someone they can pick up the phone to talk through a scenario with and rely on to help find the right funding solution for their clients,” Nienaber said.
Richardson’s promotion draws on his background in credit analysis, deal assessment, and structuring from his time in the analyst role. FMT described the move as part of its focus on developing talent from within.
Both will work alongside Jono Singh, whom FMT described as well known in the Auckland lending market.
A growing specialist lending book
Founded in 1996, FMT is a New Zealand fund manager specialising in property lending. It manages more than $2.4 billion in funds and provides first-mortgage secured finance across commercial, industrial, retail, residential, and rural property, as well as developments.
FMT said specialist lending continues to grow, and it will keep improving its offering so advisers can better support their clients. The opportunity is significant: non-banks hold only about 1.5% to 2% of New Zealand lending, against 12% to 15% in Australia, and participants at NZ Adviser’s June 2026 non-bank roundtable agreed that adviser education and personal relationships drive that growth.
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