Lancashire County Council’s Access to Finance service has strengthened its team of advisers with the appointment of two experienced leaders from the corporate banking and accountancy world.
Access to Finance Lancashire is a fully funded service backed by Lancashire County Council which helps businesses in Lancashire find and secure the finance they need.
Iain Duncan joins after spending more than 35 years in a variety of roles at HSBC, most recently as deputy head of corporate banking for Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
He has also run his own business consultancy providing strategic advice and guidance to North West based businesses.
Nick Pickles has joined the service from TaxAssist Accountants based in Chorley, where he led the franchise for nine years, overseeing nine consecutive years of profitable growth. Before this, he was a board member at a multinational franchising business and has also led a fast-growing SME business.
Both will join the organisation as Access to Finance specialists, meaning Access to Finance Lancashire now has a team of five finance experts advising Lancashire companies.
Mark Gibbons, senior Access to Finance specialist, said: “Access to Finance Lancashire is a unique service. It gives business owners and managers fully funded access to specialist business finance experts with excellent local knowledge who can help them find and secure finance.
“Iain and Nick have decades of experience in the local finance market across a variety of roles and have built strong long-term relationships with lenders, founders and business professionals.
“Their appointment will strengthen the team to 5 – all former bank managers or business finance experts – available and ready to support Lancashire businesses.”
The Access to Finance Lancashire service is funded by Lancashire County Council and the European Regional Development Fund. It is delivered by GC Business Growth Hub.
It offers expert fully-funded financial support by giving eligible Lancashire companies access to a team of finance and funding specialists to help them become investment-ready, understand their finance options, source, and secure the best type of finance for their business.
The service has so far supported over 400 business, led to £30m funding offers and supported the creation of 295 jobs.
Iain Duncan, Access to Finance specialist said: “The world of banking and finance is changing, and the support provided to business founders and managers is increasingly being done remotely or online.
“Access to Finance gives Lancashire businesses access to an expert who will meet them, understand their challenges, and help them to find and secure the finance they need. I’m looking forward to using my experience and knowledge to provide this tailored service to businesses in Lancashire helping them grow, create employment, and succeed.”
Nicholas Pickles, Access to Finance specialist, said: “There are huge amounts of new businesses being created across Lancashire and many of these need external finance to realise their potential. The finance landscape is complicated, and I am ready to support these businesses using my experience of business growth and finance.”
