Wealthcare set for record turnover

A RESURGENT construction sector has helped lay the foundations for a record year for the corporate finance arm of financial services business Wealthcare.

The Bury-based firm brokered £14m of funding deals in the first nine months of this year, matching its total for the whole of 2014.

The three months to the end of September saw Wealthcare broker £7m of finance, a record quarterly performance for the division.

Wealthcare brokers business finance with banks, specialist lenders, crowd-funders, private individuals and hedge funds.

It recently became a member of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers.

The 14 transactions in the first nine months of this year ranged in value from £125,000 to £3.7m. They spanned Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire.

Associate director Martin Simons, who heads Wealthcare’s corporate finance division, said growth was being fuelled by a more favourable lending climate and a greater willingness among residential and commercial developers to start projects.

Simons said: “More finance is being made available by lenders, and we are seeing more entrepreneurs prepared to take risks.

“Growth has come in the house building sector and in commercial construction, in particular for new healthcare, retail and leisure facilities as well as refurbishment schemes.

“There has also been a noticeably greater appetite for investment in hotels in the north from southern-based and overseas buyers, as they look to extend their portfolios into the regions.”

Wealthcare sources finance for acquisitions, working capital and asset purchases as well as property development and investment. Simons said Wealthcare’s pipeline of deals remains strong.

“At the current run rate, we expect to comfortably beat last year’s total. A wider range of funding options is now available and there is more liquidity in the market,” he said.

“The growth in our corporate finance division is also the result of increased business confidence and our ability to access non-mainstream funding options for our clients.

“We expect to recruit further staff during the course of the year to reflect the growing demand for our corporate finance services.”

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