FINANCE
Booming – Marlin Corporate Finance managing director Paul Griffiths says ongoing good news stories about Teesside are bringing national investors to the area .
Returning economic confidence brings boost for finance firm
Growing confidence in the financial climate has seen a significant uptake in smalland medium-sized enterprises accessing funding . Paul Griffiths , managing director of Marlin Corporate Finance , talks to Sarah Dale ...
Teesside ’ s confidence in the financial climate is returning , says Paul Griffiths , managing director of Marlin Corporate Finance .
The financial advisory firm specialises in helping businesses access finance and Paul has seen a significant increase in SMEs seeking to access funding , whether it be for working capital or to invest in new or bigger premises .
Teesside ’ s place on the national map has grown too , with significant investment in the region from Teesworks to Teesside Airport , and more investors from London are seeking investment opportunities right here in Teesside .
“ The economy has stabilised a bit , so people are looking at funding and growth going forward ,” said Paul , who founded Marlin Corporate Finance 10 years ago .
“ Interest rates have held , so people are more likely to buy and remortgage .
“ As SMEs ’ confidence has grown , we have seen a definite uplift in applications for funding . We have access to more than 250 lenders . It ’ s become really busy on the funding side . Where people were previously holding off , now people want to get things sorted .”
Paul has also noticed that more investors from London who have clients in Teesside are looking for opportunities to invest in the area .
“ The area is seeing a real boost ,” he said . “ Teesside is in a bubble of its own . The good news stories of Teesside and those stories being heard in Parliament – Teesside is being highly spoken of nationally – have given the area a boost .
“ The property market has strengthened across the country , and we have people buying property in the region that have good yields and good returns . There has definitely been a shift in how the south looks at investing in Teesside . Before , if investors were looking north , they would have picked Manchester .”
Based at Preston Farm Industrial Estate , Stockton , Marlin ’ s services include expert financial advice , access to lenders and investors , funding options assessments , deal structuring and negotiations , due diligence support throughout the financing process and ongoing support after securing finance .
Earlier this year , Marlin recruited its first authorised representative , Judith Lancaster , who works on a hybrid basis from the firm ’ s Carlisle office , and an administrator , to grow its team to five , with recruiting underway to double the number of staff .
The company has also further invested in new IT equipment , including laptops , screens and software to make digital applications smoother .
“ We are aiming to double revenues next year to what we have forecast ,” added Paul .
“ Expanding into the south is next on our list . We want to recruit more authorised representatives like Judith . She is cracking on in Carlisle and has multiple deals .
“ I ’ ve spoken to a couple of authorised reps and hope to make some inroads in recruitment soon . We need a couple more reps and a case manager .
“ Business has picked up this quarter . The quarter before was a bit quieter because people were not looking so much at growth and funding , but that ’ s changed .”
Paul enjoys working with people and endeavours to conduct all his meetings face-to-face where possible . Before he started his own business , he was a relationships director for a global bank .
“ I like putting the deals together for the business ,” added Paul . “ Every deal is different .
“ I like to meet face-to-face because more is said in person . You can do it quicker online , but you don ’ t get all the information you need .
“ We ’ ve been here for 10 years , and we ’ re well known and well thought of in the industry , not only in the North-East but all over the country .
“ We have to get ahead of the curve and know businesses really well . We ’ ve become a trusted advisor – and that ’ s key to our success .”
marlincorporatefinance . co . uk .
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