Our Journey
Over the past 30 years Propel has provided over £500m to over 50,000 UK SMEs, enabling them to acquire the latest, business critical equipment, machinery and vehicles. To date, we operate across the United Kingdom, with over 200 members of staff, and offices in London, Manchester and Newport Wales.
But how did we get here?
Present Day
Propel retained its title as the UK’s fastest-growing asset finance company and was awarded for the fastest sustained growth by an asset finance lender from 2021-2024.
Continued growth
- Propel secured its position as the UK's fastest-growing asset finance company for the second consecutive year, achieving remarkable growth exceeding 300% since 2020. This achievement highlights our unique approach to human-digital innovation.
- In a significant milestone, Propel Finance completed its first private securitisation as part of a substantial c. £500 million financing round. This expansion of our funding base demonstrates our total commitment to supporting SMEs across the UK.
- Citi structured a £275 million private securitisation facility and Quilam Capital provided an additional £35 million mezzanine and working capital facility. These partnerships have enabled us to partially refinance our existing British Business Bank ENABLE funding facility and pave the way for further growth.
- Propel formed a strategic partnership with Samsung Capital, the financial business of Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited (Samsung) to support its distribution partners and ensuring the best possible financial solutions to UK SMEs.
Landmark partnerships
- Our partnership with Barclays Business Banking brought access to smart asset finance to over one million SMEs via Propel's innovative technology platform, Propeller.
- We formed a strategic partnership with Azets, enabling thousands more clients to access finance via the Propeller platform.
- We secured substantial financing tranches from the British Business Bank, allowing us to provide more than £216 million of finance to SMEs across the UK.
A year of accolades
- We won 30 awards celebrating our technology-led and service-oriented approach. We continued to invest in technology, strengthening our reputation as a fintech leader.
- Jon Maycock joined as Commercial Director, further enhancing our team.
- After over two decades of delivering cutting-edge finance solutions, we rebranded as Propel to bring our new values-driven vision to life. The rebrand won the prestigious PR week Global Award for Corporate Branding.
Strategic focus
- We increased our focus on Asset, Retail, and Vendor activities, resulting in the sale of our Cashflow division.
- We strengthened our senior management team with Mark Catton as our CEO and Mark Tweed as our CFO.
- We pursued our growth objectives to become a market leading finance provider.
Welcoming expertise
Anne Williams joined as COO, bringing her extensive experience from a 20-year career at GE Capital, contributing to another period of enormous growth.
Embracing technology
- We receive a £51 million asset finance facility in partnership with the British Business Bank's Enable Funding programme, signifying our commitment to growth.
- We lent over £150 million to UK businesses and gained strong recognition from senior industry leaders.
Embracing technology
We proudly introduced an online credit decision and deal management portal in 2015, demonstrating our commitment to using technology for the benefit of our clients.
A capital boost
Our £25 million investment from Cabot Square Capital was a real turning point and marked the beginning of a period of considerable expansion. With the additional funding, we were able to write more business on our own book, which resulted in the development of new business divisions including Asset, Vendor, Retail, and Cashflow.
Leading the way
We expand significantly, becoming recognised as one of the leading providers of SME finance in the UK.
Entering the lending market
We ventured into lending our own money, creating an 'own book' facility that strengthened our position in the finance industry.
Going Public
We became a publicly traded company (PLC). This transition spurred us on, and we made significant progress.
The early years
We emerged as a niche broker, specialising in serving SMEs. We built a dedicated sales team and nurtured key accounts, quickly making a mark in the industry.
How it all started
Propel was just a seed of an idea. It all began when the founding directors shared a vision to create Henry Howard Finance (HHF). Together, they embarked on a journey that would eventually give rise to the birth of Propel.