Wesleyan Bank agrees £5m block discounting facility with 1pm
Wesleyan Bank and 1pm plc (“1pm”) have entered into a new block discounting partnership. The £5m block funding facility will enable 1pm to increase its lending to UK SMEs for asset finance and commercial loans, for both standard finance deals and those supported by the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Established in 1999, 1pm is an independent provider of finance facilities to the SME sector, offering a full range of solutions from asset finance, vehicle finance, commercial loans through to invoice finance.
Since its formation, the Bath headquartered business now operates from six sites with revenues of approximately £30m. Despite the impact of Covid-19, 1pm has remained committed to helping ensure their clients have the right funding in place to trade through these difficult conditions. The Group has continued to lend to creditworthy UK SMEs in a wide range of sectors, including haulage, manufacturing and financial services.
James Roberts, chief financial officer at 1pm, comments, “We have a number of block funding relationships and are pleased to have added Wesleyan Bank to our lending panel. Their offering is extremely flexible in terms of the types of deals we can block along with their appetite for CBILS lending. We are hopeful that this marks the start of a long and exciting partnership.”
Wesleyan Bank has moved rapidly since entering the block discounting market at the beginning of this year, agreeing new facilities with a number of asset finance lessors. This new facility for 1pm is the latest addition to Wesleyan’s Block portfolio and takes the number of live facilities into double digits, with more to follow.
Richard Baker, head of block discounting at Wesleyan Bank, says, “We have established ourselves as a recognised lender in the block discounting market and this is just the start. From the outset, we have differentiated our service offering and adopted a fresh and tailored approach which we’re delighted that 1pm and others have recognised.”
