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Brokers are set to have a greater range of funding solutions from a leading SME lender following its recent acquisition of a rival group.
Scottish Pacific finalised its acquisition of Bibby Financial Services on 31 December, with the combined business now employing almost 300 staff, handling approximately $10 billion of annual sales and providing some $700 million of funding to clients.
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Speaking to The Adviser, Scottish Pacific CEO Peter Langham said he expects the deal will enable the group to offer an even wider range of products, services and solutions to brokers’ clients.
“Scottish Pacific and Bibby have built our success on working closely with brokers and other referrers, as well as understanding and supporting their clients’ businesses,” he said.
Asked why the group decided to complete the acquisition, Mr Langham said Bibby has a number of business products and services that Scottish Pacific did not have expertise in, “so it compliments what we’re already doing”.
“We already had a very strong offering as a working capital lender for SMEs, and now we can provide an even more comprehensive funding alternative for small businesses looking to grow, whether domestically or overseas,” he said.
“Customers have still got access to the facilities they’ve always had – we’re now just a much bigger organisation.”
Looking ahead, Mr Langham said Scottish Pacific’s focus for 2016 will be to continue the products and level of service that it has historically provided, invest in business improvement ideas and research other way to satisfy the demands of SME borrowers.
He also hinted that an ASX listing may be on the cards.
“That’s something that we may or may not look at down the track, but we’ve got enough on our plate right now,” he said.
[Related: Do SMEs put banking issues in the ‘too hard’ basket?]
