In brief

Pharmaceutical provider Pharmidex has increased its testing capacity with support from Siemens Financial Services (SFS), the provider said in a statement.

Pharmidex is a London-based Contract Research Organisation (CRO) that provides bespoke data to support drug discovery and development. Its Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) accreditation meant its facility was recognised under FDA Standards, allowing them to take on more studies and use the data generated for patient clinical studies.

This required support from more advanced DNA analyser technology that could cope with the increase in scale.

Alfa, the provider of software platform Alfa Systems, has announced a major new upgrade with Close Brothers Asset Finance, which has offices across the UK, and in Ireland and Germany.

Andrew Denton, CEO of Alfa, said: “Alfa and Close Brothers Asset Finance go back a long way, and as a progressive market leader they require effective and lasting systems support. We are delighted to be continuing the journey with them.” The upgrade represents the third and largest part of a comprehensive programme of systems upgrades in the business.

SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has appointed Riana Azam as regional head of corporate to boost its support for businesses in the North of England and Scotland.

Azam brings over 15 years’ industry experience to her new role at BFS. Riana previously worked as a regional sales director for Nucleus Commercial Finance. She has also held senior roles at Metro Bank and Santander UK. Azam will be based in BFS’s Manchester office, heading up their corporate team in the north.

LTi Technology Solutions (LTi) has announced a partnership with Propel, one of the UK’s largest independent finance houses.

LTi provides a cloud platform to equipment and asset-based finance companies, while Propel recently established two of the largest strategic financial partnerships in the UK. Propel has chosen LTi as a key technology partner to sit alongside the development of its ‘Propeller’ web app. Propeller will harness the power of ASPIRE – LTi’s complete lifecycle management platform – to create an end-to-end digital journey for customers.

Specialist asset-based lender Ultimate Finance has provided £80m of new funding in the first six months of 2021, up 50 per cent on the same period last year.

This has resulted in its highest ever loan book of over £270m. It also provided £80m of new lending, which was 50 per cent up on the same period in 2020.

Josh Levy, CEO of Ultimate Finance, said: “We have remained committed to supporting our introducers and their clients by providing access to cashflow and funding solutions which I am confident remains key to their success.”

Specialist lender Cambridge & Counties Bank has completed a rebranding project. The rebrand is one of the largest in the bank’s nine-year history. The rebrand follows the bank’s recent growth and expansion into new UK markets and investments into staff and technology.

Simon Lindley, chief development officer at Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “We have grown significantly in size and scope over the past nine years due in large part to the positive relationships we have with clients and brokers, and we have put them at the heart of this rebranding initiative.”

Haydock Finance, a UK-based asset finance specialist, has announced that 2021 is off to a strong start with record first-half lending results.

In its last financial statement, for the year ended 31 December 2019, the Company reported net receivables of £256m (£178m in 2018), representing a 44% increase. Net receivables for the Group in the same period were £263m (£193m in 2018) a 36% increase. Haydock said its first-half 2021 lending for the business currently stands at over £420m.

IDS, a provider of in-the-cloud technology to the secured finance sector, has announced the migration of IDS ABL to IDScloud, its Software-as-a-service (Saas) offering.

In a statement, IDS said the migration allows asset-based lenders “access to real-time portfolio insights to mitigate risk and ensure collateral value. The cloud also provides a more intuitive experience through the borrower portal.”

Bill Noel, chief product officer at IDS, said: “When IDS acquired the ABL solution from Stucky in February of this year, we immediately began the process of migrating to IDScloud.

Time Finance has appointed Adam Shakespear as business development executive in its Invoice Finance division.

Time Finance, an AIM-listed business operating across the UK, specialises in the provision or arrangement of asset finance, loan and vehicle finance solutions. Adam Shakespear joins the team with two years industry experience. In his new role, he will be responsible for supporting the growth plans of businesses across the North West, ensuring they have the funding they need to bring their growth plans to life.

The Leasing Foundation has officially launched its Industry Insights programme, a cross-industry initiative focused on retaining and developing young talent in the rapidly growing business finance sector.

The 18-month programme will enable participants to gain exposure to businesses outside of their own organisation's development and give them the tools to further their careers and learn more than they would be able to from one employer alone. The first three-hour workshop was hosted by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) and provided a cohort of 24 with an in-depth look at the business.