Amicus launches new commercial finance business

Preston-based Amicus Finance, a leading specialist lender, is to launch a new commercial finance business dedicated to serving the small business and professional services communities.

Amicus Commercial Finance will be led by two highly experienced and proven market specialists, John Wilde and David Hogg, who built SME Invoice Finance (SMEIF) from start-up in 2000, to a national firm employing 80 staff, serving a 600-strong customer base and generating annual revenues of £12m at the time of its sale to Metro Bank in July 2013.

John Jenkins, CEO of Amicus, said: “Large bank-owned subsidiaries are currently responsible for around 85 per cent of small business lending but due to cost savings, many of them can no longer offer the type of localised, relationship-based service that is valued by smaller firms and professional services organisations.

“As two of the most experienced and successful leaders in this sector they have the skills, contacts and vision to build a business that will set a new benchmark in this sector.”

John Wilde commented: “In Amicus we have found the ideal partner with whom we can build a new proposition designed specifically around small businesses’ cash flow financing requirements. We believe that the market will welcome a fresh approach from a commercial finance provider that is able to combine the strengths of a relationship-driven service with technology-based processing power.” Amicus currently offers short term, property-based lending solutions to private and corporate borrowers, which include landlords, developers and owner-occupiers. The firm recently completed a £100m short-term mortgage-backed securitisation, the first in the UK market made up entirely of short-term property loans.