30 ALTERNATIVE LENDER


OF THE YEAR AWARD


SPONSORED BY WILSON PARTNERS WINNER Leumi ABL


Above: Jonathan Hughes of Leumi


Right: The award was presented to Leumi by Adam Wardle (far right) of sponsor Wilson Partners


This second of the evening’s awards had been included at the request of the dealmaking community following feedback from last year’s Deals Awards event. This was a relatively new area of expertise that required recognition.


Traditionally, banks have been the main source of funding for new business ventures, but today many different channels with flexible and innovative finance solutions exist.


Today, terms such as asset-based lending (ABL), invoice discounting, stock loans, and even online peer-to-peer lending or crowd funding are commonly discussed under the alternative lending umbrella when a funding solution is being sought.


Three firms were in the running for the ownership of this new award title: Centric Commercial, Close Brothers and Leumi ABL.


Centric, with Maxine Hennessy running the regional management team, funded the restructuring of debt facilities at EEG, one of the UK’s largest drain repair companies, replacing bank debt with a flexible asset- based lending structure.


Close Brothers supported the Polestar acquisition of the Goodhead Group, one of the UK’s largest magazine printers, thus securing 500-plus jobs. Close Brothers combined £7.4 million asset finance with


www.businessmag.co.uk


£9m invoice discounting to support working capital post completion.


Jonathan Hughes and his team at Leumi ABL have consistently financed deals in the Thames Valley and beyond. Deals in 2013 included Reading-based Magal Engineering, the refinancing of Cox Wokingham Plastics, the MBO of Custom Interconnect and the acquisition of Ham Baker Adams by FJ Holdings.


Adam Wardle, head of corporate finance at Wilson Partners, the chartered accountants and corporate finance practice based at Maidenhead, took the stage to announce the winner on behalf of the sponsors.


He described a firm that is a strong financial supporter of companies in this region, works closely with local advisers to get deals done, and performed strongly in 2013 with increasing volumes of quality transactions – and then named Leumi ABL as the first Deals Awards ‘Alternative Lender of the Year.’


Leumi ABL gained a significant number of nominations from satisfied clients and working partners. “Leumi provide a great alternative source of funding to the corporate market. They are easy to work with and promote a fantastic service to their clients,” said one nominator.


Another commented: “Leumi ABL is in my opinion the most visible asset-based lender


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2014


in the Thames Valley. Jonathan Hughes makes a conscious effort to keep in touch regularly and is a pleasure to deal with, responding swiftly with either a Yes or No, accompanied with comprehensive balanced feedback.”


After receiving the winner’s trophy, Jonathan Hughes, regional sales director Leumi ABL, highlighted how alternative lending had come to the forefront within dealmaking activities. “With less senior debt and conventional overdraft lending readily available, asset-based lending has filled the gap in the past five years. The corporate finance and private equity communities in the Thames Valley have really taken asset-based lending on board during that time, and since we have had a permanent presence in Reading for four years, I think that has helped differentiate us. We also have short lines of command, underwriters who are very constructive, and we operate with a team effort. This award, which is great news for us all, reflects that.”


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