Raising better business finance

Managing Director of Central Finance and former Chief Executive of The Arrow Fund Ltd; a West Midlands Regional Loan fund, Alison Bradley has over 17 years experience managing several Public Sector loan and Grant programmes across the West Midlands.

 

Alison has delivered business advice to a variety of businesses, both early stage and existing and has assisted thousands of businesses to access a range of funding.  Alison has personally raised over £8 million and counting for over 200 SMEs creating over 600 jobs over the last year and has a 100% track record with grant applications.

 

An experienced Growth Accelerator coach for Grant Thornton and SFEDI accredited business advisor, Alison has significant and unrivalled experience in relation to grant submissions and is expertly positioned to help you and your business achieve your financial aims.

Steve Harris, Director at Central Finance, Growth Accelerator coach for Access to Finance & Innovation and board member for the Worcester LEP Access to Finance subcommittee has over twelve years’ experience working with businesses to raise finance.

 

Steve has worked for the UK’s largest asset finance broker and was responsible for helping thousands of businesses in his career. His in depth knowledge of finance and alternative funding secured him a significant position at a financial services provider, where Steve helped the business double turnover from £17 million to £35 million in a 14 months period.

 

Specialising in peer to peer finance and alternative finance, Steve understands a broad range of funding solutions and will advise the right finance package for your business.

Sam Sturdy, Head of Bridging and Commercial at Central Finance, fully qualified with a Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice has over 25 years commercial finance experience.

 

From grass roots days at KPMG with international blue chip companies and high net worth individuals, to running her own commercial finance franchise, Sam has dealt with diverse and complex cases requiring the expertise of a property finance expert.

 

With over 25 years commercial experience, Sam’s expertise is thoroughly understanding the client and matching the detail to lenders criteria.   With a particular interest in the property investment arena, Sam’s experience ensures she digs deep to understand the client and the deal, bringing creative feasible solutions to the client.  Her experience ranges from auction, bridging and development finance to buy to let and residential mortgages.

 

Armed with a creative can-do approach, she prides herself in looking after clients with their best interests at heart and treating clients with honesty and integrity.

Raj Bedi, Business Adviser at Central Finance has over eleven years experience practicing in B2B Financial Services, previously working for the UK’s largest asset finance broker.

 

Raj is an experienced account manager, with new business development and sales support skills working with a number of clients ranging from start-ups to blue chip organisations, dealing with transactions from £10,000 through to £500,000.

 

A keen eye for detail and strong experience in underwriting, Raj ensures clients are maximising potential financial solutions best suited to their needs whilst matching funding criteria to deliver the right financial package.

I began my Commercial Finance career by joining a Merchant Bank dealing with different types of Investment and Pension Products, both in the private and commercial sectors. Finally becoming an Investment Manager with responsibility for the South East counties.

 

I then joined a Commercial Bank and was tasked with the building and training a sales team for the West Midland area. This role crucially expanded my understanding of different types of funding for all kinds of businesses.

 

The experience I had gained gave me an opportunity to join car manufactures Lexus and Audi, as Corporate Sales Manager for the West Midland Area working closely with business to develop relationships and help companies find the most tax efficient ways of running their car fleets.

 

Since 2010 I have worked as a Business Development Manager with Central Business Finance, utilising my experience and knowledge of commercial finance giving me the opportunity to assist many different types of businesses across the UK.

Sharon Lawlor joined Central Business Finance at the start of 2020 as a Finance Administrator following a successful 30 year career with one of the top five UK banks.

 

With over 20 years’ experience dealing with SME businesses providing finance facilities up to £1 million in various sectors including property investment and development, manufacturing, retail, healthcare to name a few she has an excellent understanding of business’s lending requirements.  Sharon’s credit underwriting background enables her to support applications due to her analytical skills and ability to assess financial information so that we can submit applications with all the appropriate information on a ‘right first time’ basis to ensure your application is processed as quickly as possible, on occasions challenging decisions where appropriate.

 

Sharon’s career choices reflect her commitment to the SME sector which she has served effectively over the years in a variety of roles from Manager’s assistant, Business Manager, Lending Manager and Commercial Real Estate Credit Manager.  Her skills complement our existing CBF Team in supporting our clients.

Chris Brown, Director at Central Finance, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a member of The West Midlands Regional Finance Forum.

 

Chris, an experienced Corporate Finance advisor has supported thousands of businesses over the years and regularly contributes and advises the Government on Access to Finance issues for SMEs in the region. His prior roles as Head of Commercial Banking for Lloyds TSB in Hanley and Head of Corporate Finance for a leading Midlands accountancy practice provide clients with the expert knowledge of banking processes and loan applications to achieve their financial objectives.

 

Chris’ expert eye for business plans, bank loan applications and lending criteria puts him in the perfect position to help you and your business access the right funding package.

Nicholas Philippides, Business Development Manager, has over eleven ‘ experience practicing in B2B Financial Services, previously working for the UK’s largest asset finance broker.

 

Nick’s specialism is working closely with SME Businesses, by being an Alternative to their bank manager.  Building close, relationships with his clients and being available to them round the clock to support their current and long- term goals.

 

Balancing Short and Medium term funding for his clients delivering various finance products from VAT Funding, to Asset Finance and Loans for Growth.  Nick assesses the best package for his client and always endeavours to maintain the long-term relationship.

Pardip Phull, Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Directors at Central Finance has over 20 years’ experience working with blue chip accountancy and finance firms and understands the demands of the Finance industry well.

 

Pardip is an experienced and well organised office manager who provides clients with both a friendly and informative face at first point of contact.

 

Always happy to help, Pardip will ensure your enquiry is dealt with efficiently by the right person at the right time.

Experienced in Business Management and Financial Accounting.

 

Lynne has been working with Central Finance since 2015 when she started to establish her business in Birmingham. Prior to which she was and still is a well respected management  accountant working in various private sectors in and around the Plymouth and Devon area.

 

Amongst these sectors were insurance companies, advertising agencies, solicitors practices, building firms, property developers and marketing agencies.

 

Lynne has been running her own Management Company for many years aswell as being a Financial Controller for a multi-million pound commercial property company.

 

During this time Lynne held the role of Director of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and a member of Plymouth Area Business Council along with being on the board of trustees for DDRC Hyperbaric Centre and Colebrook Housing Association.

Gary Taylor, Business Development Manager at Central Finance, and a member of the Institute of Directors for the last 20 years.

 

Gary, an experienced accountant and business advisor, has supported and advised thousands of businesses over the last 40 years and has regularly provided funding advice to clients many of whom are SME businesses.

 

His prior roles as senior management at blue chip companies such as Apricot Computers plc, NCR and AXA has allowed him to provide guidance for clients in respect to both accountancy and all forms of corporate finance.

 

Gary’s experience in helping businesses in respect to business plans and funding applications places him in the perfect position to help all sizes of businesses in addition to creating funding solutions which are tailored to fit with your needs.

Paul Bedi has worked in the Asset Finance Sector for over 20 years. Starting as an underwriter then moving to Head of Credit for one of the largest independent funders in the UK.

 

Paul’s extensive credit risk background gives him an in-depth understanding of what the lenders are looking for, how businesses operate and what pains they go though. Since 2009 Paul has been helping SME’s directly fund their capital equipment needs ranging from soft assets to machinery and asset refinance transactions.