Gemma had previously served at RBS for over 17 years where she became a director of invoice finance, responsible for leading a sales and client relations team within the North.

Gemma has joined the alternative finance provider following its fifth successive year of growth, with income for the year ended February 2017 increasing to £7.6m and its loan book growing by 25% on the previous year.

At Reward Finance Group, Gemma will be responsible for preparing the business for its next stage of development.

Gemma said: “I am delighted to be joining Reward at such an exciting time in its growth and looking forward to working with the existing directors to drive the business in the latest stage of its development.

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“Reward is making waves in the alternative business finance market through its fast, flexible and innovative solutions for the SME market and I am really pleased to be part of such a successful and forward-thinking business.”

Nick Smith, group sales and marketing director at Reward Finance, added: “To have attracted someone with the experience and skills of Gemma to the team demonstrates the growing reputation of Reward Finance Group within the marketplace.

“We are an extremely ambitious company, which has a ‘can-do’ attitude, makes quick decisions and provides a fast turnaround of funding.

“This approach is welcomed by SMEs, especially as traditional funding is still proving difficult to obtain.

“We are building an excellent team at Reward and – having appointed someone of Gemma’s calibre – are looking forward to building on our success.”

Last month, Reward Finance Group received a £40m investment from Foresight Group, which will double the amount of funds it has available to lend to SMEs.