Wesleyan Bank’s broker division announces record lending to UK SMEs
Wesleyan Bank has surpassed its growth aspirations, by more than treble the volume written upon launch during 2020, in the company’s first full year of trading in the broker market and has appointed Trevor Bridgman as a senior broker account manager.
For the year ending 2020, Wesleyan Bank’s Broker division has supported UK SMEs with in excess of £75m of new lending across a broad range of sectors, highlighting the demand for its specialist and commercial finance proposition.
The results follow impressive investment in Wesleyan Bank’s processes and people to improve efficiency and better serve its broker base. This includes the recent arrival of Yvonne Wiseman as head of indirect sales and now Trevor Bridgman as senior broker account manager covering the whole of the UK. Trevor, who joins from Capex Finance (part of the Maxxia Group), has gained over 20 years’ experience in the finance industry in senior underwriting, credit analyst positions at PSA Finance, ING Lease and Hitachi Capital, and latterly business development roles for Metro Bank and Capex.
Yvonne Wiseman, head of indirect sales at Wesleyan Bank, says, “We have made real strides in enhancing our broker offering and this is reflected by our impressive year-on-year-growth. This would not be possible without the honest feedback of our broker partners who have helped us critically review our business processes and get closer to our ever-evolving goal of being brilliant to do business with.”
She continues, “Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, we have a real desire to support SMEs and their asset finance requirements and to forge lifelong partnerships with our brokers. People are central to this, therefore, we are pleased to welcome Trevor Bridgman whose skills and experience will be an excellent addition to the team.”
Trevor comments, “People that I trust and respect in the finance industry have spoken highly about the rapid progress Wesleyan Bank’s broker division has made in the last 12 months. I’m excited to be joining the business at such a pivotal point.”
He adds, “Based on my previous roles, there is very little I haven’t funded and I pride myself on delivering positive end-to-end journeys for brokers and their customers. I have established strong relationships with many brokers and look forward to onboarding new partners in 2021.”
Wesleyan Bank is a subsidiary of specialist financial services mutual Wesleyan Assurance Society, which has over £8bn of assets under management.