Two new appointments to community finance group.
Two senior members of the banking community have been elected to the volunteer Board of ART Business Loans at its 20th AGM, held at Innovation Birmingham Campus where ART is based.
Chris Davis, recently retired Regional Credit Director, Barclays Bank and Manjit Kang (pictured), Diversity Ambassador, Relationship Manager & Real Estate Manager at NatWest Bank, join seven other members of the Board, which is chaired by Nick Venning, former Marketing Director, Global Industries at PwC and a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands.
“We count ourselves very fortunate in having such a strong Board, with expertise in finance, business, economics and research, says Steve Walker, Chief Executive of ART. “We are particularly delighted to welcome Chris and Manjit to the Board in our 20th anniversary year. Barclays and NatWest have supported us, both financially and through a succession of Board members since the outset, demonstrating their commitment to access to finance for enterprise, even when the banks can’t help.”
ART lends to businesses which do not meet the banks’ lending criteria, either at all, or because they have already lent as much as they can, and often lends alongside the banks as part of a package of finance.
“We are grateful to both Barclays and NatWest for their continued support and look forward to working with Chris and Manjit in the years ahead as we aim to double our lending portfolio and help even more businesses unable to access finance elsewhere,” says Steve.
ART currently has £7.5 million to lend to businesses in the West Midlands and is actively seeking further funding to ensure it can meet demand from businesses seeking to grow, diversify, or simply meet the everyday challenges of cashflow.
For more information about ART, or to apply for a loan, see www.artbusinessloans.co.uk or call ART on 0121 359 2444.