Mercia Fund Managers has expanded its Loans team with the appointment of Andy Heaton as Investment Manager.
Based in Mercia’s Preston office, Andy has over 30 years’ experience as a banker. His role is to provide finance to support growing SMEs across the UK, with a particular focus on the North of England, and to develop new business opportunities by building a network of ‘introducers’ throughout the UK.
Andy has spent most of his career at RBS, where he was part of a specialist team that helped support businesses in the wake of the financial crash and then business development director of commercial banking in Merseyside. Most recently, he was regional manager for RateSetter Business Finance where he helped to develop its introducer network.
Mercia Fund Managers offers loans ranging from £100,000 to £2.0million and can often provide finance when banks and other lenders are unable to do so. Loans are available for a range of purposes – from funding expansion to acquiring a property, investing in machinery or supporting an acquisition or buy-out.
Paul Taberner, who is Head of Debt at Mercia, said: “Mercia plays an important role in providing finance for SMEs which may otherwise be unable to access the funds they require. Andy is ideally suited to join the team. As an experienced lender, he understands the challenges small firms face in securing finance and how to put the right package in place to support their growth.”