Bibby Financial Services appoints Head of Corporate to boost SME support

By Bridging Loan Directory 20th July 2021

SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has this week appointed Riana Azam, pictured, as Regional Head of Corporate to boost its support for businesses in the North of England and Scotland.

Riana joins BFS with a wealth of expertise having amassed over 15 years’ experience in the Invoice Finance and Asset Based Lending sectors in the North West.

In her previous role, Riana worked as a Regional Sales Director across the region for Nucleus Commercial Finance.

She has also held senior Business Development roles at Metro Bank and Santander UK, in addition to spending 8 years at RBS Invoice Finance, where she managed a portfolio of commercial banking clients in Yorkshire.

Riana will head up BFS’s Corporate team in the North, based from the business’s Manchester office.

Her team is focused on developing deals for larger businesses with turnover of up to £100m supporting a range of requirements including cashflow funding, growth and expansion, management buy ins and buy outs, refinancing, corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions.

Commenting on Riana’s appointment, Head of UK Sales, Gary Davis said:

“We have had an incredibly strong first half of the year with our sales teams across the country, delivering fantastic results and continuing to support UK SMEs.

I’m delighted to welcome Riana to BFS at a time of positive change. With her experience and connections, I’m confident we’ll be able to bolster our support for businesses throughout the region even further.”

Speaking in her new role, Riana said:

“At a time when SMEs need proven, reliable funders, I wanted to join a well-established market player to support the industry during this post-pandemic recovery phase.

I’ve always been impressed by the collective determination and willingness across BFS to support SMEs at all stages of their lifecycle and I am now very much looking forward to working with my team and helping BFS enhance its already strong reputation throughout the North of England and in Scotland.”