Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has appointed John Copping as its regional sales director for the North West of England.

Copping (pictured) joins from RBS, where he worked for 33 years.

His most recent role was regional head for Williams & Glyn’s structured finance team in the North, in which he specialised in unsecured cashflow lending.

Prior to this, Copping worked in the restructuring arm of the business and was a director, managing teams of SME relationship managers.

In his new role at Secure Trust Bank, Copping will operate in the SME and mid-market space, facilitating asset-based lending transactions, as well as refinances and restructures.

The firm is looking at a record year in the North West, having advanced working capital and ABL facilities in excess of £50m in 2018 alone.

This appointment follows a series of regional expansions for the Manchester-headquartered business. The company opened offices in Birmingham and Leeds in recent months to satisfy a growing demand for alternative forms of funding from SMEs.

In its latest interim results, Secure Trust Bank’s Commercial Finance division revealed that lending balances had doubled over the course of 12 months to £187.5m, up from £94.2m the previous year.

Copping said: “The North West is home to some really exciting businesses, and the corporate finance community within the region is incredibly strong. I’m looking forward to proactively supporting businesses in the North West that are seeking finance for growth and to develop the already excellent offering of Secure Trust Bank.”

John Gribbon, regional director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, added: “John’s ability to identify and execute deals makes him an excellent addition to our growing team. On the back of a record year, we were keen to add further talent to the team so we can continue on this growth trajectory.

“We are confident that John will have a huge impact on our operations in the region as we look to support even more businesses in 2019.”