Grant Thornton opens internship programme

GRANT Thornton in Birmingham opened its latest internship programme to school students across the West Midlands.
 
Ten Year 12 students from schools including The Ace Academy Tipton, St Benedict’s in Alcester and King Edward VI Stourbridge visited the firm’s tax, audit and advisory teams at its Colmore Plaza offices. The programme included spending time at clients’ premises and working on a real life case study.  
 
Partner Becky Eagle, who devised and launched the innovative programme in 2013, said: “Developing talented people is one of my passions. Since launching this programme in 2013, we’ve attracted some very bright young students who may not have considered a career in the business advisory sector. It’s a very rewarding programme for us all and one which we’re keen to build upon alongside our pioneering graduate and school-leaver training programmes.”
 
Grant Thornton’s intern programme in Birmingham, which is managed by Melissa Hollis and Rob Cross, includes several training sessions such as presentation skills which they put into practice with a final group presentation to Grant Thornton’s senior team on their last day.
 
Ms Eagle concluded: “Grant Thornton is known for its ground-breaking talent strategy as shown by the recent launch of our shared enterprise proposal. An important part of this strategy is our school leaver programme, which has more than doubled in the last few years and over 80 such students will join the firm this autumn.”
 

Platform Black moves to support West Midland SMEs

ALTERNATIVE finance provider Platform Black has expanded its team in strategic regional locations to better help SMEs across the country access working capital quickly.

The strategy has seen Dave Saddington, Regional Sales Director, appointed to represent companies across the Midlands.

“SMEs find themselves in a tight spot. They’re up against lengthy payment terms from customers and banks are often unable to lend without tangible security. This can create cashflow challenges and have a significant impact on typical business activities, including paying employees and taking on new projects,” he said.

“It’s an exciting time to be part of the alternative finance scene as it really is helping companies achieve their full potential. We’re keen to support SMEs with a structured approach to working capital, in conjunction with existing banking services, so that they can achieve growth within the region and further afield.”
 
The firm enables companies to secure finance against single invoices, so they can release working capital quickly. Since its launch in 2012, over £94m invoices have been traded.
 

New co-chief executive for TFP

Trade  Finance  Partners,  the trade  and supply chain finance business, has appointed Chris Dailey as Co-Chief Executive with immediate effect.
 
Dailey (pictured) has worked in the financial services sector for over 15 years, most  recently as Chief Executive Officer of OakNorth, a new challenger bank  specialising in providing working capital finance to SME’s.  

He  has  a  wealth  of  experience  in  growth  and expansion,  having  managed  OakNorth  through  the  new  bank  licensing  process  and as  a  key  member  of  the  executive  team  that  grew  Aldermore  Bank  from  £50m  to  over  £3bn  of  assets  in  four  years.  Prior  to  this  he  held  a  range  of  senior  roles  across  Europe  for  GE  Capital.    
 
John Kent, chairman of TFP, said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris on  board as a valuable addition to the executive team. TFP has grown successfully over the last five years and is now ready, under the management of Chris Dailey and Chris Ash, to continue into its next stage of evolution.”