Editor's note

Welcome to our September edition!
​​​​​​​Our cover feature looks at Carrick Asset Finance, a provider of financing for UK businesses which came on the scene in October 2018. The business is not an intermediary but is independent and a lender of funds, backed as you might expect by a UK bank, in this case the Bank of London and the Middle East, itself 70 per cent owned by a Boubyan Bank, a Kuwaiti Islamic bank. We asked Carrick’s managing director, Martin Stewart, to offer a UK sector overview and to outline the business’s Covid experience on the eve of its third anniversary.

Continuing with the UK Covid theme, Andy Page, of Sofico UK, considers parallels between individuals suffering from long Covid and the hardships endured by UK SMEs.

What’s it like studying for a Diploma in Asset Finance through the London Institute of Banking and Finance? We spoke to White Oak’s Ross Grant who recently completed his diploma to find out. Ross also penned his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Penny Pinnock of Siemens Financial Services looks at asset finance as a tool at the disposal of NHS Trusts for funding medical equipment. 

In our analysis pages we look at selling debt in the commercial space. Andrew Birkwood, the CEO of Azzurro Associates, considers the options available for leasing CFOs wanting to go down this route.

While Martyn Price, invoice finance regional director at Metro Bank, says that UK providers of invoice finance able to conquer new markets will distinguish industry leaders from laggards.

Alejandro Gonzalez, Editor