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Northampton-based Portman Asset Finance has reshuffled its management team.

Alex Read, managing director since co-founding the commercial finance company in 2007, has been named chairman, with sales director Rory Dunn stepping up to become MD.

Read started Portman Asset Finance from a spare bedroom – today it is a multi-million-pound national finance broker and works with major lenders such as Investec, Hampshire Trust Bank, Hitachi and Aldermore.

Read said: “When I launched Portman Asset Finance with my wife Georgie, our aim was to provide flexible and affordable loans to smaller businesses, much like ourselves. In the years since, we’ve helped more than 10,000 companies to achieve their commercial goals by securing over half a billion pounds in funding.

“Having recently invested heavily in our marketing department, and launched a new luxury vehicle finance service, we are in a strong position to grow the business even further. I am delighted to formally welcome Rory to the role of MD and I am confident that, with his extensive sales background and knowledge of the industry, he will provide the strategic focus to help us achieve our goals.

Rory Dunn said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank Alex for getting Portman Asset Finance to the strong position it is in today. In just a decade, he’s taken it from a small-scale start-up to a multi-million pound business, which works with more than 40 finance providers. We have grown the team to more than 50 people but I’m proud that, as a company, we remain committed to supporting smaller businesses.”