Professional services group appoints Paul McGinnes to commercial finance team in Scotland

Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group has further strengthened its Scottish operation with the appointment of Paul McGinnes to its Reach Commercial Finance division.

Paul takes on the head of Scotland role for the company with a remit to meet the country’s ongoing demand for commercial finance expertise in the SME sector.

He will be helping to build on Reach’s impressive 500+ transactions and £250m raised since August 2014 whilst further strengthening the Leonard Curtis service offering amongst Scotland’s accountancy network and SME owners and lenders. Reach specialises in asset finance, property and development funding, invoice discounting/factoring, term and vat loans.

Paul brings with him considerable business, commercial and corporate finance experience in the SME sector, especially around invoice finance and asset base lending. He has also led business development and service delivery teams across Scotland for the last 10 years.

According to Scottish Government figures from March 2018, there were 343,535 SMEs operating in Scotland, providing an estimated 1.2 million jobs. SMEs accounted for 99.3% of all private sector businesses in 2018, accounting for 54.9% of private sector employment and 41.5% of private sector turnover.

In his new role, Paul will be responsible for understanding client requirements and reviewing options to find the best solutions to their funding challenges. He will also provide an advisory role to Reach’s existing client book in Scotland, looking at current finance agreements to ensure that they are working in the best interests of the client and their business.

He said: “I am looking forward to bringing the Reach brand and the wider Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group offer to more Scottish SMEs and working with accountancy professionals – via our growing Lifecycle network – and their clients to find comprehensive funding solutions.”

Stuart Robb, director at Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group, Scotland said: “We are delighted to welcome Paul on board. His appointment reflects our growing presence across Scotland and our ambitions for Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group in this marketplace. Paul’s understanding of the Scottish SME sector is second to none. We wish him every success.”