Funding facility extension gives lender the firepower it needs to help SMEs

Specialist asset-based lender Ultimate Finance has strengthened its relationship with HSBC, extending its Asset Finance wholesale funding facility of £60m.

It gives the lender – which has a base in Leeds – greater flexibility to increase the number of SMEs it can support through its Asset Finance product.

The facility increases Ultimate Finance’s growth capacity and has been secured on the back of its track record in the Asset Finance market, which saw lending increase by 20% in 2021.

The business has also announced an increase in its maximum facility size per client, from £1m to £1.5m.

Neil McMyn, CFO at Ultimate Finance, said: “We’ve enjoyed a strong relationship with HSBC. Extending our Asset Finance wholesale funding facility through to 2024 puts us in an enviable position in our market, to drive growth in our loan book through increased lending to SMEs going into 2022.”

Oke Uwakwe, director, structured finance at HSBC, added: “HSBC is pleased to be able to extend this funding facility to allow Ultimate Finance to continue supporting UK SMEs through the economic cycle.”

Ultimate Finance has provided over £45m of new Asset Finance funding to businesses in 2021, a growth of 20% on 2020.