£50m credit line increase for lender
SME funder, Reward Finance Group, has received a £50m increase in its credit line from alternative investment manager, Foresight Group.
Reward says it is now looking to double the size of its business in the next three years, facilitated by its regional expansion programme and the launch of more funding products.
The new facility brings the total provided to Reward by Foresight to £130m.
The increase in the credit line follows 12 months during which Leeds-based Reward experienced strong demand for its products, and the opening of three new offices in the last nine months – leading to a 50% increase in lending.
Reward currently has 350 SME clients on its book, five regional offices and aspirations to double the loan book to £250m in the next three years.
Nick Smith, group managing director, said: “It is excellent when a third party shares your vision for the future and is assured by your business model and projections. For Foresight to support us by increasing our credit line to a record £130m is a ringing endorsement of the way we operate.
“Our three new offices, in Birmingham, London and Edinburgh, have been a great success giving us added confidence to expand our regional office network further, especially now we have an additional £50m to lend.
“We have completed ten years of unbroken annual growth in both our loan book and profitability, as audited by PwC.”
James Livingston, Partner at Foresight Group, added: “Combining responsible lending with a pragmatic and flexible approach, Reward moves quickly to deliver finance to SMEs when they need it.
“We are pleased to have supported Reward on their journey and our own pragmatic approach to funding has allowed us to build a strong partnership, growing our facility more than threefold after five extensions, and supporting Reward’s expansion across the country.
“With its ambitious expansion plans we are confident Reward will go from strength to strength and we therefore had no hesitation in increasing the credit line to help facilitate its growth.”
