But how did we get here?

• Propel were awarded in 2026 for the Fastest Sustained Growth by an Asset Finance Lender over the past five years, achieving an impressive 415% growth. (AFUK50 Rankings)
• Further awards recognition included Excellence in Compliance Award (Finance Connect Summer Awards 2026), Finance Project of the Year and Medium/Large Finance Team of the Year (both Finance Awards Wales 2026)
• We formed a strategic partnership with Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking, helping Santander’s business clients across the UK access flexible asset finance solutions through Propel
• Propel completed its first public securitisation, a £306m transaction that strengthened funding capacity, attracted major global investors, and marked a significant growth milestone
• Following the Public Securitisation deal, the British Business Bank announced a new £75 million ENABLE Funding facility with Propel
• We partnered with additional PropelPay partners, enabling their customers to access flexible finance through PropelPay towards essential tech equipment without large upfront costs 
• The team was further strengthened with the appointments of Sean Welsh as Interim Chief Financial Controller and Stuart Clark as Group Financial Controller
• Propel’s Charity Committee raised an incredible total of £27,000 for their chosen 25/26 Charities – Cyfannol Women's Aid (£7,000) and Teens Unite Fighting Cancer (£20,000) 

• Propel were awarded in 2024 & 2025 for achieving the Fastest Sustained Growth by an Asset Finance Lender over the previous three years (AFUK50 Rankings).
• Further awards recognition included Broker Champion Funder of the Year (Leasing Gold Awards 2024), Equipment Finance Provider of the Year (Asset Finance Connect Summer Awards 2024), and Fintech Scale-up of the Year (Fintech Awards Wales 2024).

• In July 2025, Propel completed a landmark £1.5bn funding round from a number of leading financial institutions including Barclays, Bank of America, Citibank, and the British Business Bank.

• In May 2025, Propel launched PropelPay, an integrated point-of-sale fintech solution that allows businesses to acquire technology online, in-store, or by phone - completing transactions in minutes without cash flow delays.
• In September 2025, Propel partnered with Apple Financial Services to offer SMBs our Business Pay Monthly embedded finance solution via Apple’s channel partners, starting with Select, an Apple Premium Partner.
• The team was further strengthened in 2025 with the appointments of Claire van Humbeeck as Chief Credit Officer and Peter Collins as Director of Embedded Finance.
• In 2025, Propel formed their own Charity Committee, with a total of 14 staff across the business with Julie Warren (Marketing Partnerships Director) as it’s chair, fundraising for their chosen charities in 25/26 Cyfannol Women's Aid and Teens Unite Fighting Cancer 

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Anne Williams joined as COO, bringing her extensive experience from a 20-year career at GE Capital, contributing to another period of enormous growth.

• 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.

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.

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.

We expand significantly, becoming recognised as one of the leading providers of SME finance in the UK.

We ventured into lending our own money, creating an 'own book' facility that strengthened our position in the finance industry.

We became a publicly traded company (PLC). This transition spurred us on, and we made significant progress.

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.

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.