Wednesday 23rd January 2008
Bank of Scotland Corporate in Sheffield has announced five new appointments in a move which signals the bank's intent to increase market share in South Yorkshire and build on recent success.
Based in the bank's corporate offices on Leopold Street in the heart of Sheffield's professional community, Lee Bloodworth joins Bank of Scotland from RBS as an Associate Director focused on developing the bank's mid-market business. Peter Wilmer joins the team from Grant Thornton Corporate Finance, also as an Associate Director, with responsibility for supporting David Hunt in growing the Bank's customer base with some of the largest businesses in the region.
Peter Egan, formerly of Barclays, joins as an analyst whilst two new Senior internal positions have been created to support the significant new business volumes created in 2007 and ongoing for 2008. These include a new Director with Mark Beaumont joining the team from Bank of Scotland Cash Flow Finance and a new senior analyst with Gary Wilson joining from the Bank's Real estate Division.
Since setting up a large corporate office in Sheffield in 2002, Bank of Scotland Corporate has grown the business from 6 people to 27 people, all dedicated to supporting the local business community.
The Bank's successful move on the South Yorkshire corporate market was rewarded last year with the 'Corporate Bank of the Year' trophy at the region's inaugural dealmaker awards. During 2007, the office dealt with in excess of 40 deals and re-banks including the £24 million refinancing of Sheffield-based Solpro Manufacturing, the £30m financing of Innocent Drinks in London , a £21 million deal to support Chesterfield-based Fusion Group's domestic and overseas expansion plans and a £70m financing package for Velocity Living.
The expansion of the bank's Sheffield office is part of a national drive by Bank of Scotland Corporate to increase market share across England & Wales. Targeting trading businesses with an annual turnover of £5m plus, the bank has recently launched a series of innovative products aimed at enticing customers away from other banks. New products include an offer of £30 million of funding for Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Transport and Logistics businesses, interest free for 12 months. The bank has also launched a Cashflow Finance package which offers up to 100% of the value of a customer's invoice paid within 24 hours and where the first year of the two year deal is free of charges. An Offset Loan or HP arrangement is also available which pays interest on a customer's current account at the same time as their Loan or HP borrowing.
Tim Pryor, Head of Corporate - Commercial Banking in Yorkshire and the North East said:
"I'm delighted to welcome all the new recruits on board at such an exciting time for Bank of Scotland Corporate. With a high-calibre team in place and a series of market-leading products on offer, we are in a very strong position to increase the volume or South Yorkshire's businesses on our books. We've built our reputation on being the bank for entrepreneurs and I'm confident that this reputation, combined with the highest quality banking team and some leading edge products, will help us achieve our objectives for growth over the coming year."
Notes to Editors –
Bank of Scotland Corporate,part of the HBOS Group, has a reputation for excellence in the provision of corporate finance, delivering innovative funding solutions across a range of markets. With experience across many areas of corporate finance, including specialist teams covering Joint Ventures, Integrated Finance, Structured Property Finance, Infrastructure Finance and Housing Finance, Bank of Scotland can draw on an expert pool of professionals with proven track records. Bank of Scotland provides funding to more Management Buy-Outs than any other bank in both the UK and Europe and is now recognised as the top UK arranger for PFI/PPP deals. Bank of Scotland Corporate employs around 9,000 employees. Total lending at June 2007 stood at £95.8 billion
