The asset based lending division of Midlands-based challenger Secure Trust Bank has doubled its lending in the past year. The firm, which is currently establishing a new city centre office in Birmingham, has provided over £60m to Midlands-based SMEs in 2017.
This is the second consecutive year that the firm has doubled lending, with almost £2bn worth of client invoices funded since its inception in 2014. This places Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance in the top 10 independent providers of asset-based lending and alternative finance in the UK.
Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance provides a full suite of flexible asset based lending and invoice finance products to small and medium sized enterprises. The division operates nationwide with dedicated regional sales directors on the ground in each of the UK regions.
The firm recently provided a £15m asset-based lending facility to Redditch-based Carpet & Flooring (Trading) Limited, one of the UK’s leading distributors of floor covering products. The funding will enable the business to pursue strategic acquisitions and add to its existing 11 branches.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2011 and added to the main market in 2016, the wider Secure Trust Bank Group has also seen strong growth. Pre-tax profits rose to £25m in the last 12 months – an increase of 28.9 per cent on 2016 figures.
David Parsons, Regional Managing Director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said:
“Doubling our lending balances two years in a row is a massive achievement, and is indicative of how far we have come as a lender. We’re now on our way to another significant milestone, having funded almost £2bn of client invoices, nearly £1bn of which have come in the last 12 months. But it’s not all about numbers; we’ve also increased our focus on completing quality deals and backing ambitious and talented management teams in the Midlands.
“As we continue to build our nationwide footprint, we are looking to establish a number of dedicated offices for a greater number of regions so we can serve SMEs across the country. As we already have sales directors across every local market, the foundations are set for us to scale up and become the nation’s leading provider of alternative finance.”
