British lender Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has announced that its CEO John van Kuffeler will today step down, with Jono Gillespie, the company’s CFO, succeeding him.

The chairman of NSF, Charles Gregson, said the leadership change was a “long-planned” decision which was “agreed with John Van Kuffeler” in light of the company’s pending recapitalisation and meetings with investors.

“Having hired Jono Gillespie into Loans at Home and supported him into the Group CFO role, I am delighted that he will become the new CEO of NSF,” said Kuffeler.

The former CEO and founder of NSF said he was “confident” in Gillespie’s “ability to lead the company out of the pandemic and into the future.”

The NSF board said a process to find a replacement for Gillespie, who until today acted as the group’s chief financial officer, was already under way.

Gillespie, who has been at the firm for five years, will continue to take responsibility for the company’s financials in the meanwhile.

With around 25 years’ experience in the non-standard consumer finance sector, Gillespie said he was “looking forward” to leading the lender, “starting with a substantial capital raise, that will transform the Group’s prospects and enable us to make the most of the UK economic recovery”.