New bank Aldermore increases funding to SMEs by another 14% in last quarter alone

• Posted: 23 May 2011
• In: General Bank
• Tags:

• Current lending to SMEs jumps by 75% to £468.7m
• Asset finance for small businesses up 29%

Aldermore, the new British bank, has increased the amount of lending it provides to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by another 14% in just the last three months.

At the end of the last quarter the bank had outstanding loans to SMEs of £468.7m (March 31 2011) compared to £410.2m three months earlier.

Aldermore's outstanding loan book to SMEs has increased 75% over the last year from £268m at the end of March 2010.

Phillip Monks, Aldermore's CEO comments: "We are having no real problems in taking on the kind of sensibly priced and low risk SME lending that we set out to target."

"The relative ease at which we are beating our growth forecasts is proof that we have established a very successful and efficient business banking platform."

"Small businesses clearly like the service that we are providing them with."

Phillip Monks says the results may also have a couple of important messages for the broader market:

• small businesses are very keen to look at alternative sources of funding to the big banks
• that many SMEs are still struggling to get sensibly priced funding from the banks

Phillip Monks says that he does not expect that the traditional big banks are going to end this drought of funding for SMEs for quite some time.

Elaborating on the pace of Aldermore's growth Phillip Monks explains: "Although we are growing very rapidly we have been very careful to ensure that we do not bite off more than we can chew."

"We are out to impress our clients with a very high level of service, with quick decision making, with highly knowledgeable and very well trained staff."

Aldermore was the first of the new wave of post credit crunch banks to be launched in the UK and is the only new bank to focus its lending activity on small and medium sized businesses and homeowners.

 

Asset finance up another 29%

Asset finance has remained one of the strongest areas of Aldermore's growth so far this year with funding provided to SMEs through asset finance increasing by 29% in the last three months.

Adds Phillip Monks: "Asset finance is essential if the UK's small businesses are to be able to maintain their competitive edge as it provides them the stable funding to invest in the machinery and IT."

"Small businesses should not be forced to fund investment in their business assets by using an overdraft facility as that overdraft facility can be withdrawn almost at a moment's notice."

 

Earlier this year one of the UK's biggest banks announced that it was going to stop providing asset finance to small businesses.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Aldermore is a new name in British banking and is one of the most strongly capitalised banks in the UK.

Backed by AnaCap Financial Partners LLP and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Aldermore was the first of the new wave of post credit crunch banks to be launched in the UK and its lending activity is focussed on small and medium sized businesses.

As a British bank, Aldermore is regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is registered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means customers' savings are protected up to the statutory limit of £85,000 per person. Aldermore is also a member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

About AnaCap Financial Partners LLP

AnaCap is a specialist private equity investment advisor which is based in London and focuses on pan-European investments in the financial services sector. AnaCap has more than €1 billion under management.

AnaCap's investment strategy and team has attracted investment from highly regarded global institutional investors including Goldman Sachs, Allianz, Honeywell, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, State of New Jersey and Adams Street Partners.

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