North West-based business lender Reparo Finance is further strengthening its team with the appointment of Daniel Jones as business development manager.

Daniel joins from Lloyds where he spent over ten years as a local business manager. With extensive experience in financial services and a focus on commercial lending, he has worked across a variety of sectors, including hotel, retail and leisure.

In his new role, Daniel will be responsible for developing new business for Reparo in the South West and South East as the firm builds its presence across the UK.

Daniel comments: “This is a fantastic opportunity to join a fast-growing, boutique firm that has carved out a niche for itself as a specialist lender, helping SMEs with their funding challenges. In the current difficult conditions, it is going to be more important than ever that businesses are able to turn to lenders who have a flexible, performance-based approach and can act quickly to provide support.

“I am a firm believer in building strong relationships with clients and look forward to working with businesses and brokers across the region to help provide lending solutions.”

Steve Richardson, sales director at Reparo, comments: “With his understanding of the needs of small businesses and his commitment to helping them thrive, Daniel is a perfect fit for Reparo. His skills and passion will make him a welcome addition to the Reparo team as we continue to extend our footprint, providing a much-needed alternative to mainstream lending across the UK.”
Reparo Finance Group provides flexible loans of between £20k and £1m with loan terms of between three months and five years. Focussing solely on the SME market, the firm offers secured and unsecured lending based on rapid assessment of businesses by its expert team of relationship managers.

Independent law firm Brabners has appointed a new partner to its pensions team as that practice group continues to experience significant revenue growth.

Caroline Curran joins from PwC’s Manchester office where she was a director and head of pensions legal in the North as part of PwC’s 15-strong national pensions legal team. Prior to that she spent nine years in the pensions practice at Eversheds Sutherland.

The appointment comes as Brabners seeks to maintain the strong growth of its pensions practice. The team, headed up by partner Ian Mylrea, increased fee income by 85% over the two-year period ending March 2020.

Nik White, managing partner at Brabners, said: “Caroline is a vastly experienced lawyer and will be crucial to the continued growth of our pensions practice. The team has gone from strength to strength recently, demonstrating the breadth of our offering by referring work into our corporate, commercial, litigation and property practice groups.

“The outbreak of Covid-19 has caused major challenges for many businesses and there is increased demand for a number of our service lines as a result. I have no doubt that Caroline’s expertise in helping businesses and pension trustees manage their pension schemes will be invaluable in the coming months.”

Caroline Curran, partner at Brabners, said: “Brabners’ pensions practice has made great strides in just a few short years and it’s a privilege to be welcomed into a team with such significant potential.

“We’ve seen the challenges of an ageing population and, consequently, expanding pension liabilities come to a head for a number of high-profile firms in recent years. In the face of a new crisis, an effectively managed pensions scheme remains essential for businesses looking to support their people and ensure financial resilience.”

Brabners’ pensions practice launched in 2014. Major brands including Panasonic, Fujifilm and The Very Group are among its list of clients.

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has announced the appointment of Graham Brew as a Portfolio & Structuring Director based in its Manchester office.

Graham will be responsible for supporting existing clients in the North West, as well as driving new deal origination for the firm’s suite of alternative finance products.

Graham joins Secure Trust Bank from Barclays, where he spent 32 years across a variety of roles. Most recently, Graham held the position of large corporate trade and working capital relationship director, where he was responsible for the risk management and operation of working capital facilities across a portfolio of more than 20 corporate clients.

In addition to working across Barclays offices in the North West, Graham spent more than 20 years in a flexible working environment, the benefits of which are currently being reaped as all businesses and employees adapt to ensure high levels and continuity of service for clients.

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance provides a full-suite of flexible asset-based lending and invoice finance products, ranging in size from £1m to £50m, to small and medium sized businesses.

Established in Manchester in 2014, the lender now operates sites in Leeds, Birmingham and London to offer a truly national service. In its latest annual results, the firm revealed that its lending balances increased 29.3 per cent to £251.7m in 2019, up from £194.7m in the previous year. Secure Trust Bank is now one of the top 10 independent operators in the asset-based lending market.

Graham Brew, Portfolio & Structuring Director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “Secure Trust Bank provides a dynamic and fast-moving environment, and a new challenge that I am extremely excited to be taking on. This is an ambitious and rapidly growing business that has built a reputation for thinking outside the box in seeking bespoke solutions to some of the more interesting transactions in the market. I’m looking forward to working closely with the team in the North West and supporting our clients through this challenging time.”

Paul Johnston, regional managing director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “Graham has gathered an enormous amount of corporate experience during more than 30 years at Barclays, and will be a valuable addition to our team in Manchester. As companies continue to be resilient, Graham will provide much needed financial and business support to help our clients through this uncertain time, and will help us play a key role in delivering growth as markets begin to re-emerge.”