Marketplace lending platform RateSetter has hired two former bankers in a move to boost their executive bench. Paul Marston has taken the position of Head of SME Lending and Angela Yotov as Head of Legal.
Marston was previously employed by Secure Trust Bank, a challenger bank, where he was managing director of the business and commercial division which provides funding for SMEs and property development loans. Prior to that he was a managing director at NatWest RBS, where he was responsible for the business and commercial banking in the South and West of England and Wales.
Yotov migrates over from Barclays, where she spent the last 8 years in both the wealth management and investment banking in-house legal teams, specialising in credit and loans. She studied law at Oxford University, trained at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and subsequently worked at Latham & Watkins.
“Eight years after the start of the financial crisis, the traditional market for SMEs finance is still not fit for purpose,” commented Marston. “There’s an exciting and significant opportunity for forward-thinking companies like RateSetter to provide the desperately needed finance that will enable UK SMEs to grow and improve their productivity. I look forward to making the most of this opportunity with RateSetter.”
Rhydian Lewis, CEO at RateSetter, said adding senior hires such as Yotov and Marston was indicative of their serious growth. “We’re leaving nothing to chance – by hiring the best people, we’ll be able to increase our lending volumes and customer base without compromising on quality,” said Lewis.
RateSetter is one of the fastest growing marketplace lenders in the UK. Commercial lending presently makes up 30% or £137 million of their outstanding loans.
Commercial lending makes up £137m (30%) of RateSetter’s outstanding loan book. RateSetter specialises in business loans of between £25k and £1m, with larger loans on a bespoke basis, and has provided more than 2,000 loans worth £98m. Since July 2014, the British Business Bank has also been lending to sole traders through RateSetter, and it expanded this to SMEs in December 2015.
Yotov commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining the RateSetter team at such an exciting time: the dynamic market has huge growth potential, with RateSetter leading the way in innovation. Having lent almost £1bn to date and with the new Innovative Finance ISA approaching, the stage is set for a new era of expansion. Growth indicates maturity but also brings complexity, and I’m looking forward to helping RateSetter deal with that as the market develops.”
