Specialist bank celebrates reaching £5bn lending milestone

The commercial finance arm of FTSE-listed Secure Trust Bank has surpassed £5bn of invoices funded to British businesses.

The Manchester-based division, which is headed up by managing director John Bevan, has funded a further £1bn in just under 10 months, having reached the milestone of £4bn in October 2019.

Since it was established in 2014, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has seen its lending balances grow year-on-year, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 102%.

In this time it has launched new offices in London, Birmingham and Leeds to be in close proximity to clients and professionals on a national scale.

The firm offers full asset-based lending facilities worth up to £50m in value.

In addition, the lender is now an accredited partner for the British Business Bank’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and was the first alternative lender accredited for the large business CLBILS scheme.

This means it can provide part government guaranteed loans of up to £5m, and up to £50m for businesses with an annual turnover exceeding £45m.

In its latest annual results, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance reported a 33% increase in its lending balances to £259m, up from £194.7m in the previous year.

John Bevan said: “These results are a fantastic accomplishment for our business and highlight the strong need for alternative funding providers in the UK.

“We were delighted to be one of the first non-high street banks to be accredited for CLBILS alongside the flagship CBILS and we are committed to supporting business in the UK during these difficult times.”