Advantedge Commercial Finance appoints Mark Williams to support Midlands expansion
Advantedge Commercial Finance (Advantedge), a leading invoice finance provider, has appointed Mark Williams as sales director for its Midlands based operation. Williams will be responsible for bringing greater awareness of the financial support Advantedge can bring to firms in the Midlands area.
Advantedge opened its doors in the Midlands earlier this year as it seeks to bring financial support to the 450k private sector businesses who make up the Midlands thriving business community. The firms aggressive expansion strategy follows on from a successful MBO in 2016 and a high profile rebrand at the beginning of this year.
Mark will be responsible for leading and developing the firms new business presence in the region building robust relationships with intermediaries and their clients. He brings a wealth of experience and a hard-won reputation in the financial services industry built up over three decades. Having started his career at Barclays managing a lending portfolio of 220 clients he moved onto First National and then Bibby Financial Services before settling at Aldermore where he has spent the last 14 years in a sales and business development role across the Midlands.
As Mark says: “The Midlands are the heartland of the UK’s manufacturing sector and I know the importance of the region to the country’s economy – £222bn last year and this has grown by 30% in the last decade. The area has played a strong role in the recovery of the UK economy – over the last year, private sector employment in the Midlands grew more than three times faster than London and the South East. It is underpinned by a strong private sector base with well-known global companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce, and JCB. SMEs and micro-businesses are thriving, with nearly 460,000 SMEs and micro enterprises across the region, 8.7% of the UK total. Many of these are an essential part of the supply and service chains supporting the larger businesses”.
As Mark continues: “Advantedge presented a compelling opportunity which was too good to turn down. They are at a pivotal point with an exciting growth strategy and a real desire to do business. They have access to large funding pools and are happy to provide funding facilities up to £1.5m. I am looking forward to getting on and supporting firms in the Midlands.”
Advantedge, who offer a full range of invoice finance facilities to small and medium sized businesses, have seen consistent growth having already funded over £2bn worth of invoices to British SME’s and hope to significantly increase that number with the opening of the Midlands office. The business attributes this continued growth to delivering fast and flexible finance solutions to clients on their own terms, which is aimed at delivering a transparent and professional service to both intermediaries and clients.
As Paul Stokes, regional MD for the Midlands concludes: “We are delighted that Mark has joined the team at such an exciting time for the business here in the Midlands. He is well known in the region and has a fantastic reputation for getting deals done. His approach is entirely focussed on delivering the best facility as quickly and as smoothly as possible for his clients. His personable approach supports the relationships that he builds with businesses and their advisors in order to deliver the best financial solutions.”
