People: New director at finance firm; print company makes new appointments; Leicester PR and publishing firm celebrates new face and promotion

MAF Finance Group (MAF) has appointed seasoned director, Jon Bennett, to head up its sales operation in the East Midlands.

Bennett, who is based in Chesterfield, has extensive experience of managing trading businesses and structuring complex facilities, following a decade of banking experience in a similar role at Santander and three years as head of sales at alternative funder, Fresh Thinking Capital.

He has been working with SMEs and owner-managed businesses across Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire for over 25 years.

MAF managing director, Dave Chapman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jon to the team. This is a key appointment for MAF, with Jon already having many clients and professional contacts across the region. Businesses are increasingly looking at their funding strategies for growth as we continue to emerge from the pandemic and we’re looking forward to extending our offer to support more businesses with a range of finance solutions across the region.”

Bennett added: “I’m excited to be joining such a well-respected commercial financial brokerage in MAF, and very much looking forward to helping grow and develop businesses further by assisting SMEs navigate the increasingly complex UK debt landscape.

“I am also relishing the opportunity to expand awareness of the MAF offering and its various specialist divisions to my network so we can work together to help SMEs and deliver further growth across the East Midlands region.”

Cassandra Taylor, Graham Grant, Rachael Hunt, Kye Sparks

Lincoln print and design company, Visual Print and Design, has welcomed three new members to the team and promoted a fourth internally.

Graham Grant has joined the team as creative graphic designer, and with the help of the Government’s Kickstart scheme, Kye Sparks has come on board as operations assistant.

In October, Cassandra Taylor joined as finance assistant and Rachael Hunt was been promoted to head of marketing and business development after two years as the company’s marketing manager.

Sarinda Bains and Rebecca Rhodes

Leicester-based PR and publishing company, Fraser Urquhart Media, have welcomed former BID Leicester and Leicester City Council alumni, Sarinda Bains, into the business and promoted Rebecca Rhodes to account director.

Managing director, Kevin Urquhart, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for FU Media. The new appointment and promotion of these two high-calibre members of staff show our confidence and faith in the FU Media brand, our many partners and our dedicated team. FU Media prides itself on commercially-led PR that achieves real results and, throughout the pandemic, we lived by the mantra that ‘silence is not golden’. Our business growth throughout this tumultuous trading period is testament to the results and impact we’ve been achieving for our clients.”