Secure Trust Bank doubles its lending over last 12 months
The asset-based lending division of challenger Secure Trust Bank doubled its lending over the past year.
The firm, which is based in Manchester, has provided nearly £40m to North West based SMEs since its last results were published.
This is the second consecutive year that the firm has doubled lending, with almost £2bn worth of client invoices funded since it was launched in 2014.
Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance is now one of the top 10 independent providers of asset based lending and alternative finance in the UK.
Major transactions over the past 12 months include a £15m asset based lending facility to Carpet & Flooring Limited, one of the UK’s leading distributors of floor covering products, which will be used to make strategic acquisitions and support new branch openings.
The firm also provided a £6m combined investment with PHD Equity Partners to Olympic Fixings Group, a hardware business based in Accrington, East Lancashire.
The funding will be used to enhance the company’s e-commerce offering and further support and develop its client base in Europe.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2011 and added to the main market in 2016, the wider Secure Trust Bank Group has also seen strong growth. Pre-tax profits rose to £25m in the last 12 months – an increase of 28.9 per cent on 2016 figures.
Sean Powell, National Sales Director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “Doubling our lending balances two years in a row is a massive achievement, and is indicative of how far we have come as a lender.
“We’re now on our way to another significant milestone, having funded almost £2bn of client invoices, nearly £1bn of which have come in the last 12 months. But it’s not all about numbers; we’ve also increased our focus on completing quality deals and backing ambitious and talented management teams in the North West.
“As we continue to build our nationwide footprint, we are looking to establish a number of dedicated offices for the UK regions so we can serve SMEs across the country. As we already have sales directors across every local market, the foundations are set for us to scale up and become the nation’s leading provider of alternative finance.”
