Alternative finance provider, Reward Finance Group, has marked the first anniversary of the opening of its new Manchester office and also completed its 100th deal, bringing the total lending to SMEs in the region to £30m.

Although the 11-strong team moved into The Lexicon on Mount Street in Manchester 12 months ago, the last few months have seen them working from home, where they have continued to provide working capital to help companies countrywide.

The milestones have been reached a couple of months after Steve Noble was appointed as managing director of the North West.

Noble (pictured, left) said: “Although we are a relatively new name in the area, the team has worked incredibly hard to build up an excellent reputation, which has led to the completion of so many deals.

“We have always operated very much on a hands-on basis, rather than a ‘box-ticking’ exercise. We therefore visit the business to get to know the directors, see how the business operates, and check out the business plans. Naturally, we must now do all of this virtually.

“However, it hasn’t slowed down the speed we can turn around deals, which is key when providing additional working capital. This was particularly important for those companies which needed to quickly step up production to supply essential products to the NHS and key workers.”

Nick Smith (pictured, right), group managing director of Reward Finance Group, added: “As we have built our presence in the region over the last few years we have attracted highly experienced and well-connected finance professionals who have quickly raised awareness of the company, which has led us to hit the 100-deal mark, which was for Warrington-based Care At Home Group.

“We are looking forward to building on this success over the next 12 months, as we help companies navigate, and succeed, through this dreadful pandemic.”