Allica Bank ramps up direct-to-SME business with two new local relationship manager appointments

Allica Bank has further invested in the launch of its direct-to-SME offering with the appointment of two local relationship managers. The bank says its mission is to give established SMEs access to the tailored expertise of local relationship managers who will understand their specific business and community, answering a demand from firms forgotten by mainstream banking.

Ricky Kapoor, Business Relationship Manager for London, has 14 years’ banking experience, with the last seven years working with SMEs. His focus will be on commercial mortgages, with an offer that satisfies a much-needed demand:

“What makes Allica different is our relationship-centred approach,” he says. “This personalised support will empower SMEs to achieve their ambitions. These are the businesses that have been left behind by a trend towards telephone and online banking, making it impossible for business owners to build a relationship with their bank or get expertise from an individual who understands their specific needs.

“Allica’s recent increased maximum commercial mortgage from £3 million to £5 million will be especially useful for the London market.”

Matt Ellery will divide his responsibilities between two homes in the South East and Midlands. Starting out in accountancy and moving to asset finance five years ago, he says his experience will help drive Allica Bank’s local asset finance proposition in what is an underserved sector:

“As a new fintech not bogged down by red tape, Allica is very well positioned to move quickly, and shape our proposition around what the businesses need.”

Conrad Ford, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Allica Bank, says he is excited to see the bank’s direct-to-SME offering moving at such pace: “I am delighted to welcome Ricky and Matt to a highly-motivated, passionate and dedicated team. Their experience will add greatly to our internal expertise, helping us to offer even more SMEs the finance they need to grow.

“There are thousands of businesses who – despite the pandemic – are looking ahead and motivated towards growth. However, they have struggled to get the attention of banks whose funding capacity is limited by providing government support loans. The established SMEs need local relationship led support more than ever, and Allica are the bank to give them this. ”

The appointments follow the launch of Allica’s direct-to-SME offering in April. Allica has seen strong growth in lending in the last year and plans to offer £500 million in committed SME loan offers in 2021. In addition to increasing its maximum commercial mortgage from £3 million to £5 million, it has also increased its maximum asset finance loan from £250,000 to £500,000.