ArchOver, the P2P business lending platform, has opened a new office in Birmingham.
The firm said it was expanding into the West Midlands and opening up new flows of capital for SMEs operating in the region.
It was said that it believed this was in contrast to traditional banks which are divesting from hubs outside London and further centralising their operations in the capital,
Leading the Birmingham office will be David Newton, who began his career as a Chartered Accountant at Ernst & Young before undertaking a corporate finance and investment banking career in London.
He specialises in the provision of finance for SMEs and growth companies. He was the CEO and CFO of an AIM-listed international mineral company with operations in the USA and Mexico before moving back to the West Midlands where he has held roles including as the Finance Director of a Software and SaaS business, and as a Corporate Finance Director for a Birmingham-based advisory firm.
Newton said: “Birmingham will soon be connected with 5G, will host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and the city’s council has revealed that 2017 saw an 11% increase in new business openings. It is a hotbed of innovation and among the top cities in the UK for job creation. Enabling local SMEs to access the funding they need to grow through ArchOver will boost an already thriving business landscape. I’m excited to be part of that process, and am delighted to be supported by such a strong ArchOver team in London.”
ArchOver CEO Angus Dent added: “This is the first step on the road to national expansion for ArchOver. We have long supported Midlands SMEs that struggled to secure traditional finance, so opening our first regional office in Birmingham was a natural choice. The region’s many businesses in the manufacturing and supply chain sectors will also enable us to grow our strong portfolio of SMEs in these industries.”
