Asset Advantage has made two internal appointments as the SME funder looks to strengthen operations amid continued demand for business finance.

The Basingstoke-based firm has appointed Hannah Berry to its documents and payouts team as a payout administrator, while Grace Walker has joined the collections and recoveries team as a collections and recoveries administrator.

Berry (pictured, left) will be responsible for preparing finance documentation and progressing agreements through to payout. She will work with underwriting and sales teams to help ensure transactions are processed efficiently and in line with governance and compliance requirements, while also overseeing the administration of finance agreements and payments.

Walker (pictured, right) will support the collections administration function, including monitoring incoming payments, helping to manage overdue accounts and assisting with customer communications on outstanding balances.

She will also contribute to operational reporting and due diligence work, including credit searches and data analysis.

Asset Advantage said the appointments form part of its wider growth strategy as it looks to support commercial finance brokers and SMEs across the country.

Over the past 12 months, the lender said it has made a number of senior hires, launched new products and invested in systems and processes as it expands its business finance offering.

Asset Advantage has provided finance to SMEs for nearly two decades through asset finance and business loans, with funding of up to £500,000. The funding is used across a range of cases, including hard and soft assets, business acquisitions and management buy-outs.

Gary Thompson, sales director at Asset Advantage, said: “Hannah and Grace are two fantastic additions to our team and help strengthen two critical parts of our operation as we continue to execute our growth strategy and strengthen our proposition.

“The first quarter of this year has proven to be really busy with high demand among SMEs for flexible funding.

“Even with strong headwinds in the economy, our data suggests that this trend is only set to continue. It therefore makes real sense to bolster our team and bring new efficiencies to meet this demand and best support both SMEs and our broker partners.”