Linked Finance appoints Richard Glavin as commercial director

Richard Glavin
Linked Finance, Ireland’s leading P2P (Peer-to-Peer) digital lending platform, has appointed Richard Glavin as Ccmmercial director. Richard will support the rapid growth of the lending portfolio which has grown rapidly to deliver over €166m in loans to over 2,900 ambitious local businesses in every county in the country.
Richard joins the Linked Finance team after spending 5 years as commercial director in Chill Insurance, Ireland’s largest independent insurance broker. Prior to joining Chill Insurance, Richard was head of sales and business development in 123.ie for almost ten years. In the role, he oversaw the customer acquisition model grow from 30 staff to 350, and from €10m to €120m in Gross Written Premiums in the first 4 years.
Richard will use his experience of scaling fast-growing technology-led platforms to focus on day-to-day operations and in delivering on the company’s current growth trajectory.
At the beginning of January, Linked Finance became the first non-bank lender to offer loans through the Government’s flagship Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS). Linked Finance has funded just under €30m worth of CCGS and standard loans to SME customers to date this year, underlining the success of alternative lenders in Ireland’s funding landscape.
In July, Linked Finance delivered the strongest monthly lending volume in the platform’s 7-year history with €5.5m in loans, and reached the milestone of issuing over €160m in loans to Irish SMEs earlier this year.
Commenting on the appointment, Niall O’Grady, chief executive officer of Linked Finance, said: “We are delighted to welcome Richard to the Linked Finance team to help support the rapid growth of our lending portfolio. This year alone, Linked Finance has achieved a number of standout milestone targets – and there are more opportunities on the horizon. The firm has big ambitions for the future and Richard’s appointment will play a pivotal role in connecting growing Irish businesses with lenders who are looking to support Irish businesses. At Linked Finance we offer SME businesses a range of options to access finance fast and efficiently in a seamless digital way”
Linked Finance offers its investor network – including members of the public and institutions – the opportunity to lend directly to local businesses via the Linked Finance platform. Companies that have availed of lending through Linked Finance include: Tara Slevin, The Agile Executive, Lolly & Cooks, and Murphy’s Ice Cream.