Member Article

Finance Firm Marks Return From COVID With Key Hire, Rebrand And £15,000 Refurb

• Liz Jowett joins from Santander UK • £15,000 investment into employee-focused office renovation • Rebrand marks the start of ambitious growth plan

West Yorkshire-based commercial finance brokerage, ABL, has added another senior figure to its 11-strong team – an announcement which heralds several important developments for the firm.

Joining as partnerships manager, Liz Jowett brings seven years’ experience from within the banking sector. Under her new remit, the former business relationship manager for Santander UK – and its Leeds Work Café – will foster innovative relationships which help people and businesses to prosper.

ABL assists businesses with growth by offering support around raising finance, mergers and acquisitions, refinancing and asset-based lending. But it has expansion plans of its own too – with ambitions to open a further five offices over the next two years.

Despite the difficult climate, the £15,000 investment in the refurbishment of ABL’s Cleckheaton HQ – as well as a complete company rebrand – offers the ideal platform to support the firm’s next stage of growth, while also accommodating a shift in colleague and customer requirements.

With COVID-19 bringing employee wellbeing into sharp focus, the recently completed four-week office fit-out is designed to offer a flexible working space which better reflects the vibrancy of the young consultancy and the move to a more hybrid office culture.

Understanding that those working on the ‘front line’ of financial negotiations need space to think and ‘reset’ away from their desks, directors Alex Beardsley and Andy Redman converted their private office space into a shared ‘quiet room’ where colleagues could escape and take a break from their screens. The design and delivery was handled by West Yorkshire firms, Pene Lane and Pearl Design.

Alex Beardsley, director at ABL said: “We appreciate that no-one wakes up in a morning and thinks ‘I really want asset finance’. But when people lie in bed thinking ‘I have a cashflow problem’, they want to work with someone with experience, who can offer trusted and easy-to-understand advice.

“ABL is committed to doing things a little differently, and I’m delighted that our reputation for challenging the norm is attracting people of Liz’s calibre – something which is crucial as we expand our physical footprint across the UK.

“At a time where business finance is firmly in the spotlight – because of COVID and Brexit – there is a real necessity for organisations to make complex financing simple. We understand that for those looking for additional resources, the process needs to be as hassle-free as humanly possible.”

Providing commercial finance consultancy services to businesses across the UK, ABL has helped over 6,000 organisations to achieve their growth potential since its inception in 2013. Company director, Alex Beardsley, was also elected to serve on the CBI’s Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Council earlier this year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .