Broker firm SPF Private Clients has launched a business finance division to offer funding solutions to small and medium-sized companies.
The business finance division will be spearheaded by business finance advisers Craig Ashton and Tom Naidu.
The firm said both will leverage their backgrounds in business finance and commercial lending to offer solutions to SPF Private Clients and Howdens’ existing customers as well as new customers.
Ashton has been a commercial finance broker at SPF Private Clients for around a half a year, and before that, he was a director at C15 Solutions for around two years.
Prior to that, he was a corporate manager at Acuity Finance, and prior to that, he was a senior business development manager (BDM) at Reparo Finance Group.
Naidu has been a commercial finance adviser at SPF Private Clients for around half a year, and before that, he was a BDM at Claratus Commercial Finance for over seven years. He was previously at Funding Circle for around three years.
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The firm said: “Working with a robust panel of lenders, Ashton and Naidu are confident their strong relationships with business finance providers will enable SPF to find the best solutions for SMEs.”
SPF Private Clients said there had been 890,684 company incorporations for the year ended 31 March, which is up 11% on the prior year, indicating that demand for business finance was “growing significantly”.
Russell Hall, executive director of SPF Private Clients, added: “By offering business finance solutions, SPF is filling a gap in the market. We were finding that clients taking out a residential, buy-to-let or commercial mortgage often had a limited company and were asking for some sort of asset finance or business loans.
“In the past, we haven’t been able to help, but now we have a strong offering for existing clients, as well as for brokers and other introducers who perhaps don’t fully understand the nuances of this market and have a client they need to refer.”
Ashton added: “In this tough economic environment, particularly for certain sectors such as the hospitality industry still recovering post-pandemic, the need for the right business finance is more acute than ever.
“Many bosses of SMEs simply aren’t aware of the range of options available – from straightforward products from traditional lenders to more specialist products and providers. We look forward to working with them to find the right funding for their business.”
SPF Private Clients recently opened a Dubai office and joined the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) last year.
