New finance chief for alternative lender

Alternative finance firm ThinCats has appointed Mark Guttridge as chief financial officer.

Guttridge has more than 20 years’ experience in the credit rating, insurance and consumer lending sectors gained at Experian, BGL and most recently, Oakbrook Finance, where he was finance director.

He will be based in ThinCats’ office in Ashby-de-la Zouch, Leicestershire.

Guttridge said: “I am delighted to be joining ThinCats at a time when business lenders have a critical role to play in helping UK businesses trade through the current crisis and be in a position to take advantage of opportunities once economic activity picks up. The ThinCats model of accessing institutional capital to fund business loans will enable us to support many viable businesses over both the short and long term.”

Amany Attia, chief executive, ThinCats, added: “Mark brings a great range of expertise gained at companies such as Experian and BGL which will be vital as we look to scale up. Our immediate priority, however, is to support our existing borrowers and investors, so it’s encouraging to have someone of Mark’s wide experience and skills in risk management, data analytics and financial controls onboard to help deliver this.”