David Smith steps down from Positive Cashflow Finance
1pm plc (1pm), the AIM listed independent speciality finance provider has announced that David Smith, a member of the founding management team and currently managing director, of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Positive Cashflow Finance (Positive) has stated his intention to step-down from his role with effect from 30 June 2019.
Positive Cashflow was acquired by 1pm plc in June 2017. As part of the purchase the senior management team at Positive, were retained and targeted to achieve significant growth in profit before tax over a three-year period. David’s announcement comes as the business exceeds the profit targets set when the business was acquired, a year earlier than expected”.
With the business in good shape and a succession plan in place, David believes the time is now right for him to step down in order to pursue other business interests. Phil Chesham, also a member of the founding management team and currently sales director at Positive, has been promoted to the position of head of business and will manage Positive with the two other founder members, Peter Davis, finance director and Simon Cook, commercial director. As a result of Phil’s promotion, Andy Hume has been promoted to head of sales.
As David Smith commented: “The last 12 years since we formed Positive have been a fantastic experience which I have enjoyed immensely. The sale of the business into the 1pm Group provided us with additional support we needed to take the business to the next level. We have a great team here and I am proud of what they have achieved. With the business on a strong footing, it’s time for me to step aside and let Phil step up and take the business on into its next stage of development within this progressive Group leaving me with time to focus on other business interests”.
1pm is an independent provider of finance facilities to the SME sector offering, a multi-product range of business finance solutions to the UK market from asset finance, commercial loans, vehicle finance through to invoice finance. The group operates a “hybrid” lending and broking model enabling it to optimise business levels through market and economic cycles. With a strong reputation for providing a flexible and fair approach to funding, 1pm is seen as a trusted partner for both introducers and clients alike.
Ed Rimmer, chief operating officer, 1pm commented: “David, the rest of the management team and all their employees have delivered an excellent performance in competitive trading conditions and I am delighted that their performance reflects this. It really is a stand-out achievement. We are indebted to David’s leadership in delivering this performance and he leaves a legacy of a very successful business which Phil and the team will now develop and grow further. We thank David for his significant contribution and wish him well in his future career.”
