Growth Street appoints new BDM to boost origination in Scotland
GROWTH Street has hired Jennifer McGuffie as business development manager for Scotland to boost its origination in the country.
The peer-to-peer business lender said on Monday that McGuffie has more than 15 years’ experience in the commercial finance space, having previously worked at Lloyds TSB, Bibby Financial Services and Ultimate Finance.
She will be based in Glasgow, where she will originate and structure funding facilities for growing and ambitious small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Scotland, Growth Street said.
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“We are delighted Jennifer is joining the team to enhance our offering to Scottish businesses,” said Michael Ellis, head of sales – North at Growth Street.
“Scotland has been a hotbed of SME success in recent years and, in my view, it all comes down to the support business owners are given. There are currently around 340,000 SMEs operating in Scotland, providing 1.2 million jobs. These businesses account for 99.3 per cent of private sector companies. The statistics paint a picture of just how important smaller businesses are to Scotland’s – and the UK’s – economy.
“But these businesses have a lot on their plate when it comes to funding. Over the 10 years since the financial crisis, the big banks have steadily withdrawn access to the most flexible business finance product: the traditional overdraft. Growth Street research suggests that total overdraft lending is down by as much as £18bn compared to 2008.”
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“The success of high-growth Scottish businesses in recent years has been well documented,” said McGuffie.
“One only has to look at the rising profiles of BrewDog, Skyscanner and FreeAgent to see how much potential there is for entrepreneurs in Scotland.
“Having worked in the commercial finance industry for 15 years, I am excited to be joining a great team and a great business that’s genuinely doing things differently to help Britain’s SMEs.”
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