By Scott Wright
A NEW invoice finance provider aimed at firms turning over up to £10 million has been launched in Scotland amid the continuing cost-of-doing-business crisis.
Business veteran Andy Tait, who launched the Scottish arm of Bibby Financial Services in 1999, has joined forces with US-based Sallyport Commercial Finance to set up a new commercial lending operation in Glasgow.
Based on Glasgow’s St Vincent Place, it will aim to support firms in sectors such as haulage, manufacturing, and recruitment with working capital solutions.
Mr Tait was most recently chief executive of GreenAcres Cemeteries & Ceremonial Parks, having led a private equity-backed management buyout of the organisation. He has been joined at the new venture by fellow directors Joanna Cashmore and Kirsty Neely, as well as senior executives Allan Dempsie and Michelle Carroll. Ms Cashmore and Ms Neely joined from Bibby and Sonovate.
Mr Tait said: “The cost-of-trading crisis is really taking its toll on Scottish businesses, with sky-high energy prices and coronavirus support repayments causing headaches for entrepreneurs.
“Sallyport Commercial Finance will offer an alternative to traditional lending provided by the high-street banks, with an experienced, more personalised and local service. Having built businesses in Scotland and other parts of the UK, I understand the pressure that the owners of small companies are feeling.
“Invoice finance can be a great option for many businesses to free-up working capital and boost their cash flow.”
The Scottish operation has come after Mr Tait worked previously with the leaders of Sallyport Commercial Finance in North America, Nick Hart and Emma Hart.
Mr Hart was formerly managing director of Bibby Financial Services California, as well as Bibby operations in Yorkshire and the North East. The Harts launched Sallyport Commercial Finance in the US.
and took it into Canada in 2019.
Mr Tait added: Having worked with Nick and Emma in the past, we are all very excited to launch Sallyport Commercial Finance in the UK with an investor who really understands the sector and the challenges facing small businesses today.
“Sallyport Commercial Finance already has a strong reputation in North America for helping small and medium-sized businesses and their owners become successful and I’m proud to bring the brand into Scotland.
“We can help companies make their assets work harder for them, providing the cash they need to trade effectively and fuel further growth.
“Challenging times also create opportunities for entrepreneurial owners and businesses. We see increasing numbers of businesses looking to North America to sell products and services rather than Europe presently and a trusted experienced finance partner like Sallyport Commercial Finance can help make them become a success at home and abroad.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here