ThinCats hires Geoff O’Brien to originate new business in Scotland
THINCATS has hired a regional origination manager to boost its business in Scotland.
The peer-to-peer business lender said on Wednesday that it has hired Geoff O’Brien (pictured) to develop relationships with businesses, commercial finance professionals and funding advisers, to boost loan origination in the country.
O’Brien has previously held director-level roles at Santander and Clydesdale Bank. He also has experience of working with scale-up entrepreneurial businesses via his involvement with the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Business School and their Growth Advantage Programme.
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“We have a number of strong relationships in Scotland, and it has become clear that there is a particularly high proportion of underserved SMEs, who are struggling to find the funding they need to develop, grow and realise their potential,” said Damon Walford, chief development officer at ThinCats.
“We are very happy now to be in an even better position to help them out; Geoff is the ideal person to provide expert, local support and guidance.”
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In December 2015, ESF Capital, the London-based institutional fund manager, acquired a 73.4 per cent stake in ThinCats, providing investment, working capital and management and operational resource, along with underwriting capital for loans on its platform.