The news comes as Ashley Finance unveiled its new website as it looks to grow “significantly” throughout 2017. 

Speaking to Bridging & Commercial, Liam Cavanagh, operations director at Ashley Finance (pictured above), outlined the lender’s plans for 2017.

“We’re developing new products that are going to come to market during this year. 

“We’re shortly going to bring Ashley to Scotland for the first time with the launch of a new bridging loan product exclusively for the Scottish market. 

“In addition, there’s a product that we’re hoping will launch in Q4 that we believe is going to offer something different to what is already out there – although we’re not telling you what it is. Yet.”

Liam said 2017 was all about doing more of what it did, but doing it better than ever before.

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“Ashley was established to help businesses access the finance that may have been denied to them elsewhere and this year we plan to help a record number of customers.  

“We want to be more available to businesses, giving them reassurance that they have options when others may have shut the door on them.”

He hopes the new website will be as clear as possible about Ashley’s two main messages: “What we do and how we can help.”

“It’s free of clutter and is now a lot easier to navigate meaning that customers can find the information that they need more quickly,” Liam added.

“The homepage features a short form for potential customers to complete and we’ve put it at the very front of the site for a reason: we want to start a conversation. 

“Open and free-flowing communication is crucial to how we want to work and the site is designed to make this easier than ever.”

Liam explained that the new website was more readable and to the point and looks to use case study videos to show how Ashley has helped all sorts of businesses that need finance.

“We want to take the fear out of funding. 

“We want to spread the message that whatever a business’s history, we have ways of helping. 

“Our new website is the perfect forum for bringing this message to a growing audience.”

Looking at how alternative lenders, such as Ashley, can attract more market share, Liam felt all lenders needed to work hard to ensure their customer base continued to expand.

“One of the most important investments that an ‘alternative lender’ can make is in marketing. 

“SMEs need to be educated as to the many ways they can access the finance they need. 

“The more that business owners know about the sector, the more credibility it will have. 

“If this continues, maybe the industry can drop the ‘alternative’ tag altogether as providers become an everyday option for businesses looking for finance.”