Laura Rees has spent 19 years in business finance, joining FW Capital from Catalyst Finance. Prior to that Laura worked at RBS Group for 11 years, latterly as a relationship director for the corporate and commercial team in Manchester. At RBS she oversaw a diverse portfolio of clients ranging £2M to £40M turnover. She also spent time as a business development manager for RBS Invoice Finance.
Based in FW Capital’s Manchester office, Laura will be responsible for helping small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) access loans of between £100,000 and £750,000 from the firm’s NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance fund- part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
FW Capital is able to offer NPIF loans backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS), which provides facilities to SMEs which are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cashflow because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Gary Guest, FW Capital’s fund director in the North West & Cumbria said: “I’m delighted to welcome Laura to FW Capital. Now more than ever, businesses need the support of experienced lenders and she will be a great asset to the existing team.
“Being able to provide NPIF loans backed by CBILS now means we can step in and provide the support SMEs need to keep going and in time, both grow and thrive.
“The loans are just the beginning for our customers. Looking after these customers with personal, local relationships is what makes us different. How we add value post investment is key and often cited as a reason for coming back to us for further funding.”
Laura Rees added: “I joined FW Capital as I am passionate about helping businesses and FW Capital have an excellent reputation in the alternative finance market.
“Their ability to make quick lending decisions and operate a streamlined and transparent application process makes access to finance a straight-forward experience for businesses.
“The CBILS loans will be vital to keeping businesses afloat during the coming months with the key benefit that no personal guarantees are required for loans of £250k and below. I’m really pleased to be part of a team which is helping to deliver such a necessary source of support.”
To date FW Capital has invested £154m into businesses across the North and created or safeguarded over 7300 jobs.
