SME challenger bank unveils plans to open Yorkshire office after lending balances double

The asset based lending division of challenger Secure Trust Bank is set to open an office after doubling its lending over the past year.

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has provided £11m to SMEs based in the North East and Yorkshire since its last results were published.

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance provides a full suite of flexible asset based lending and invoice finance products to SMEs. The division operates nationwide with dedicated regional sales directors on the ground in each of the UK regions.

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.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2011 and added to the main market in 2016, the wider Secure Trust Bank Group has also reported that pre-tax profits rose to £25m in the last 12 months – an increase of 28.9% from 2016.

John Gribbon, regional director for Yorkshire 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 Yorkshire and the North East.

“As we continue to build our nationwide footprint, we are looking to establish an office in Yorkshire so we can serve SMEs across this region and the North East. Having eased into my role in the Yorkshire patch, the foundations are now set for us to scale up and become the nation’s leading provider of alternative finance.”

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