Richard Pyman has taken a leave of absence from his role as Chief Executive Officer at Shawbrook Bank due to illness, it was revealed in a statement last week.

Richard, who was appointed as CEO of the challenger bank in April 2014 after joining the group two years before, is taking temporary leave from his role after following medical advice.

“The Board wishes Richard a speedy return to full fitness and is confident that Tom, Stephen and the Executive team will provide strong leadership until Richard returns to his role in due course,” the group stated.

Richard’s departure was revealed the same time as the group announced its successful Q1 results; namely its early-April IPO highlighted to have raised £90 million of gross primary proceeds and its organic origination in this year’s first quarter noted to have risen by a hefty £158 million from Q1 2014.

Tom Wood, the lender’s Chief Financial Officer, will be filling in for Richard during his absence as interim Chief Executive Officer, while still continuing his normal role with support from Stephen Johnson.

Stephen, who will still be maintaining his role as Managing Director of Commercial Mortgages, recently gained regulatory approval as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and has just joined the Board of the Company.

While undergoing the temporary management shuffle at the group, Shawbrook reported it is on course to reach its end of year target of originations in excess of £1.6 billion.