Lloyds Bank revs up services for Lancashire and Cumbria firms with Preston expansion

Lloyds Bank has expanded its SME commercial banking centre in Preston to increase its support for firms based in Lancashire and Cumbria.

Consolidating its operations into the two floors over the Fishergate branch, the bank has moved 11 relationship managers into the Preston centre.

Additionally, Lloyds Bank has taken on Lauren Derbyshire in the role of relationship manager for healthcare, Sharon Ball as relationship manager for agriculture, Kay Wareing for relationship director of manufacturing and Garry Birchall as relationship director for local banking

The bank has welcomed all four newcomers into the Fishergate team in a bid to boost its presence across Cumbria and Lancashire.

The Preston banking centre is home to local and commercial banking teams, in addition to business development and commercial finance specialists. The branch also houses sector-specific teams catering for businesses working in healthcare, manufacturing, property, agriculture and education.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s regional director for SME banking in the North West, Martyn Kendrick, said: “This move is designed to further enhance the level of specialist service we can offer to the region’s businesses.

“Locating our teams together like this will help us deliver a comprehensive banking service to SME businesses.”

He continued: “We are bringing together our expertise in some of the key sectors that underpin the local economy, reflecting demand from the local business community.

“It’s a declaration of our determination to help SMEs in Lancashire and Cumbria access the funding and support needed to grow at home and abroad. We’re committed to helping businesses prosper, that’s we’ve pledged to grow our net lending to SMEs by at least £1bn every year until 2017.”