Access to Finance appoints pair of advisors

Access to Finance has appointed experienced finance professionals Iain Duncan and Nick Pickles to its team.

Access to Finance Lancashire is a fully funded service backed by Lancashire County Council which helps businesses in Lancashire find and secure the finance they need.

Iain Duncan spent more than 35 years in a variety of roles at HSBC, most recently as deputy head of corporate banking for Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

He has also run his own business consultancy providing strategic advice and guidance to North West based businesses.

Nick Pickles has joined from TaxAssist Accountants based in Chorley, where he led the franchise for nine years, overseeing nine consecutive years of profitable growth. Before this, he was a board member at a multinational franchising business and has also led a fast-growing SME business.

Mark Gibbons, senior Access to Finance specialist, said: "Iain and Nick have decades of experience in the local finance market across a variety of roles and have built strong long-term relationships with lenders, founders and business professionals.

"Their appointment will strengthen the team to five – all former bank managers or business finance experts – available and ready to support Lancashire businesses."

The Access to Finance Lancashire service is funded by Lancashire County Council and the European Regional Development Fund. It is delivered by GC Business Growth Hub.

It offers expert fully-funded financial support by giving eligible Lancashire companies access to a team of finance and funding specialists to help them become investment-ready, understand their finance options, source, and secure the best type of finance for their business.

The service has so far supported over 400 businesses, led to £30m funding offers and supported the creation of 295 jobs.