Growth Street makes two new hires to support growth plans
GROWTH Street has bolstered its business development team, to help it achieve “significant growth” in 2019.
The peer-to-peer business lender said on Wednesday that Rob Kelly (pictured) has been appointed as head of sales for the South of England and Rhys Price is joining as a business development manager for the North of England.
Kelly has almost 30 years of experience working in small- and medium-sized enterprise finance, having held roles at Barclays and ABN AMRO Commercial Finance and Bibby Financial Services. His last job was as head of sales for Scottish Pacific Business Finance.
Read more: Growth Street addresses liquidity demand after student feedback
Growth Street has been boosting its sales network across the country. Last month it announced the appointment of Gareth Pritchard as the firm’s first business development manager for Wales and the South West of England.
“Too many high street banks have de-prioritised really intelligent support for growing businesses,” said Kelly.
“Growth Street understands the challenges faced by SMEs, and the whole team share my passion for helping British businesses understand their options when it comes to finance.”
Kelly and Price will be tasked with educating new business markets on Growth Street’s flagship business finance product, GrowthLine.
The GrowthLine product works in a similar way to a traditional overdraft, letting borrowers draw down funds and make repayments as often as they like in a given month.
“We’re delighted to have welcomed Rob into the team! His experience will help us immensely as we continue to build out our UK-wide team,” Julie Ashmore, Growth Street’s commercial director, said.
“In 2019 we’ll continue building relationships around the country, not just with business owners but with finance partners like brokers and accountants. Rob’s experience will enhance our offering and help us support more SMEs nationwide.”
Growth Street has lent out £70m to SMEs since launching in 2014.
Last month it was reported investors on the platform had seen a 16.7 per cent annual boost in returns so far in 2018.
Read more: Growth Street calls for “passable” Brexit plan
