In his new role, Richard will work alongside head of vendor Terry Lloyd (pictured above, right) to focus on business development and strategic growth.

Richard joins from DLL where he most recently led the development of funding products and strategies for global vendor and direct enterprise partners.

Prior to that he held senior roles at GE Capital and oversaw the development of high-value vendor programmes and direct partnerships across industrial, transport, logistics, construction and materials handling sectors.

“This appointment is a clear statement of intent from Paragon SME Lending,” said Stewart Good, sales director of SME lending at Paragon (pictured above, centre).

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“Richard’s experience and expertise will bring huge value to our business, and his appointment represents a significant investment in our long-term ambitions to become the funder of choice for UK SMEs and vendors.

“We are ready to expand our direct capabilities, support SMEs on their growth journeys and maintain the highest standards of service as we continue to grow.”

Richard added: “The attraction of working with a UK-based funder with agility, talented people and a clear strategy and defined markets was a real draw for me. 

“In this role I plan to grow a foothold across a range of sectors — waste, transport, healthcare, trailers, aviation and intralogistics to name a few — and to build sustainable, long-term partnerships based on trust and responsiveness.”