Leading independent SME funder, Bibby Financial Services (“Bibby”), has appointed Mary Sharp as Commercial Director – North and Joanna Cashmore as Head of Sales for Scotland as it looks to significantly grow its funding support for the country’s businesses.
UK Commercial Director, Edward Winterton said: “Scotland is a key area of growth for us and we are continuing to invest in our teams to boost the level of support we offer both SMEs and intermediaries alike.
“With both Mary and Joanna in their new roles, I’m confident that we’ll be able to significantly grow our support for Scottish businesses.”
Born and raised in Perth, Mary is a graduate of Dundee University and a Chartered Accountant. Holding a PHD in Industrial Economics, Mary joins the funder following sales and operations management roles at Lloyds Banking Group and Price Waterhouse Coopers.
Mary has over 27 years’ experience in invoice finance and will head-up at team of 100 in Scotland and the North of England.
Commenting on her new role, Mary said: “Bibby is an extremely forward looking business and it’s overriding differentiator is the emphasis placed on developing strong relationships with clients and intermediaries alike.
“Building on our invoice finance pedigree, our expanding product portfolio and growing funding capability means that we can support more Scottish SMEs than ever before. I’m delighted to join Bibby at a time when we are looking to grow our presence in the Scottish market.”
Joanna Cashmore joined Bibby in 2010 from Lloyds Commercial Finance where she worked in the asset finance team, providing hire purchase and leasing against vehicles, machinery and plant.
With ten years’ experience in asset based finance – six in invoice finance – Joanna has been appointed as Head of Sales for Scotland and says she will focus on developing new intermediary relationships, in addition to enhancing existing partnerships.
Joanna said: “We have a fantastic intermediary network in Scotland and a key focus for me will be ensuring that we can build our presence in the Scottish market even further.
“SMEs in Scotland tell us that they’re looking for funding to grow and we’re in a fantastic position to help.”
Bibby has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh and in 2015, the funder announced that it is committing upwards of £770m in funding to UK SMEs, following a successful refinancing deal.