£4bn lending milestone reached as asset-based lender predicts record year

John Bevan

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has funded £1bn worth of customer invoices in the past year, bringing its total amount lent to more than £4bn since launching in 2014.

The commercial finance arm of the FTSE-listed bank provides a full suite of asset-based lending facilities to businesses across the UK, ranging in size from £1m to £50m.

It provides funding for a range of scenarios, including management buy-ins, restructurings and turnarounds as well as service-led refinances.

The firm has achieved an average of 85% year-on-year growth since establishing in Manchester five years ago, while headcount has increased from six to 30.

Last year the lender expanded its presence across the UK with new offices in Yorkshire, London and the Midlands, enabling it to offer a more personal service to around 110 clients in the UK.

In its latest interim results, announced in August, Secure Trust Bank revealed commercial finance had provided £220.7m-worth of funding to UK businesses up to 30 June 2019 – an increase of £33.2m in comparison with the same period last year.

John Bevan, managing director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “The commercial finance business has completely transformed since our inception.

“When we started out our maximum loan size was £15m, which has since risen to £50m, demonstrating our size and scale in the market.

“Not only this, but an average 85% year-on-year growth is indicative of our strong proposition and credibility as one of the UK’s leading invoice finance providers.

“Our expansion into Yorkshire and the Midlands has also been a driving factor behind our growth.

“Having a base in each of the UK regions has enabled us to offer a better service to the businesses we work with which, coupled with our flexible approach to lending, has led to huge increases in facilities we fund.”

He added: “We’re confident this growth will continue into the future as we expect to see a record year in commercial finance.”

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