8 | Aycliffe Today Business
Commercial
Expert
expands
to new
office space
following
sales boom
By Martin Walker
A commercial finance company which
manages more than £48m-worth of deals
a year for clients nationwide has expanded.
Commercial Expert has taken on additional
team members and moved to larger,
modern, bespoke fitted premises at The HUB
Workspace on Aycliffe Business Park due
to continuing success and expansion of an
already flourishing business.
It now expects to see turnover increase
and is looking to take on additional staff in
2016 after a record year.
The company was founded by managing
director Mike Coates in 2008 when he
diversified from the residential mortgage and
insurance advice career he began in 2001.
Mike was originally based in Darlington,
and relocated to Newton Aycliffe in 2012
to facilitate the growth of his expanding
business.
Commercial Expert offers a comprehensive
range of business finance to a broad
spectrum of clients, each with differing
financial requirements.
Services include business loans, property
investment finance, and development
finance, bridging finance and crowdfunding
loans. The company’s expert advice has been
invaluable to hundreds of satisfied clients,
while Commercial Expert is proud to be
directly authorised by the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) and provides regulated
commercial financial advice.
“These are exciting times for Commercial
Expert, we’re very much on an upward
curve,” says Mike.
“I’d like to think we’re seen as a beacon
in the world of commercial finance because
we’re detailed, transparent, rigorous and
ethical in everything we do. We are delighted
to be one of a small number of commercial
finance companies in the
region who are directly
authorised by the FCA, we
have strict guidelines and
procedures to follow, which
are adhered to, offering
our clients confidence and
complete peace of mind.”
Mike says Commercial Expert’s success
to date “has been down to our sheer grit,
determination and integrity as well as the
wealth of knowledge and expertise offered
by myself and my team.”
“Commercial finance has become
notoriously difficult to obtain from banks by
business owners with many feeling that the
loyalty factor has disappeared,” he added.
“Despite popular opinion banks are still
lending to businesses, but are much more
selective and no longer service every
business sector. I heard recently from a
client that his bank of 30 years was no longer
able to support his business needs, and he
needed to find alternative funding. It’s about
knowing where to go when this happens.
“There are new banks in the market place,
what we call ‘challenger banks’. They’re
big organisations with funds to lend, but
they don’t necessarily have a high street
presence. There are literally hundreds of
alternative lenders out there, it’s just having
the knowledge and expertise of knowing
who they are, having access to their products
and which of their criteria i ́