FINANCE
Growing the Group
New recruit – Jonathan Graham , left , pictured with Tony Insall , has joined Yarm-based Infinity .
Jonathan Graham ’ s appointment part of bigger recruitment drive
WORDS : PAUL FRASER PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH
The rapid expansion of Infinity Finance Group is set to continue following the appointment of a successful operations director known for helping North-East businesses grow .
Jonathan Graham is a couple of months into his new role , having been asked to front up the Infinity Payments and Early Pay strands of Tony Insall ’ s Yarm-based Infinity .
Jonathan ’ s arrival forms part of a recruitment drive that has seen eight new members of staff added to the tech development and sales part of the overall group .
And following the 47-year-old ’ s decision to take on the new challenge , Tony is confident the growth will be ongoing .
“ It is growing quicker than we imagined ,” said Tony . “ There will be a recruitment drive over the next three months that will see us recruit up to 20 new staff members for various roles across the business .”
Jonathan is originally from Ponteland and now lives in Hartlepool . Over the last 20 years , he has become well-known as operations director of Tavistock Hospitality , which owned and refurbished 35 bars and hotels , including its flagship in Sunderland , the Roker Hotel .
He was also responsible for starting up the brewery S43 and building up Wearside ’ s popular gin brand , the Poetic License Distillery , which was based at the Roker Hotel . Now his focus is on the new role and doing something special on Teesside .
Tony said : “ This shows how important the rapid growth of our business is . Jonathan will supercharge that growth in terms of Infinity Payments and Early Pay .
“ Jonathan has two decades of experience working in director or chief operating officer roles in previous businesses he was been with . It is clear from his qualities that he was going to help us as a business .
“ We felt there were some gaps to fill . We wanted to develop certain areas a little quicker . Jonathan has assisted at the top end .”
Jonathan is overseeing the strategic planning , the formation of teams in key areas , financial planning , marketing and the growth of the business , as well as the specific products .
Infinity Payments speeds up the process of opening a new account , is web-based and will be available on your mobile phone or on a desktop . Early Pay is a work-based app for employees that ’ s designed to help people get access to wages before the due date .
Jonathan said : “ I have appealed to Infinity and Tony because of the diversity of serviceable businesses I have worked in . It is not the ability to run a pub or restaurant , it is the ability to be able to successfully run businesses overall and implement a vision for that business .
“ There is a desire from both parties to take this business forward as quickly as we can by fulfilling the potential we can see because of how the modern banking role is changing rapidly . The products and services we have on offer are all geared towards making that happen .”
Tony met Jonathan through business associates and his move to the Infinity Finance Group highlights how attractive the business is following consistent and impressive progress reports .
“ Jonathan wanted a new challenge and he was the perfect fit ,” said Tony , speaking from his office on Yarm High Street .
“ The way he works , carries himself and the way people talk about him is what we needed here to plug those gaps and to drive us forward .
“ We are over the moon with the growth , and it ’ s part of the bigger plan . We are really happy to get Jonathan on board . It has been a very pleasing first five months of the year .”
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