White Oak UK has announced a number of new hires to its specialist finance team as it seeks to increase its focus on larger transaction sizes within the SME market.

The new hires are Nicki Bowron, Callum Bull, Gordon Malcolm, Cole O’Malley and Andrew Thrower. All five have extensive experience in business finance across a number of different sectors, including manufacturing, transportation, energy, renewables, oil and gas, plant & vehicle hire, aviation and marine.

They will be assisted by Jessica Gorman who has 20 years experience in asset & business finance support.

Paul Roberts, head of specialist finance at White Oak UK, said: “At a time when traditional lenders are retrenching due to uncertainty around Brexit, there’s a growing need for alternative forms of finance to help UK businesses reach their aspirations and goals.

“By hiring a team with such a wide variety of specialisms and experience, we can offer UK SMEs the full range of business funding products, including asset financing, asset based lending, invoice finance, business & tax loans.

“With each of our specialists operating across the full spectrum of the UK’s sectors, we believe we are well-placed to fulfil an array of business needs tailored to the individual requirements of each of our clients.”

Carl D’Ammassa, CEO at White Oak UK, added: “Our recent hires showcase White Oak UK’s commitment to hiring high-calibre individuals with extensive track records and proven credibility. Our goal is to become the employer-of-choice for the most talented individuals in our industry and we remain committed to providing our clients with superior expertise and insights that are specifically tailored to their individual needs.”

White Oak UK, which rebranded from LDF last year, provided over £500 million in funding to UK businesses and broke £1 billion on its own book in 2018 since its launch four years prior.