BARCLAYS Corporate Banking team has made strong strides in the first half of the financial year 2019 with 5% growth in its loan book and 15 new deals in the local market, reinforcing the bank’s commitment to Scotland.
The total value of the deals in the period from 1 April to 30 September saw Barclays achieving double digit income growth per annum, something the bank has accomplished every year for the past decade. This is a considerable achievement within a challenging corporate lending market where growth has been difficult. The bank continues to grow its market share and investment in Scotland following the announcement that it is to create 2,500 jobs when its state-of-the-art campus opens in Glasgow next year.
The deals demonstrate the bank’s breadth of sector expertise with funding provided across manufacturing, hospitality, food and drink, professional services, third sector, business services and retail clients in the first six months of the financial year alone.
Whisky is an industry which Barclays has seen significant growth in thanks to a bespoke funding package which lends against a distillery’s inventory, the value of which increases as the whisky matures. In addition to distillers themselves, it has delivered funding to the wider supply chain, from international and micro-distilleries to grain producers and logistics firms.
Building materials and construction businesses are also flourishing sectors with the bank recently providing funding to assist with the management buyout (MBO) of building materials suppliers Keith Builders Merchants, based in the north east of Scotland. The deal combined a term loan and an invoice discounting facility.
Meanwhile Barclays provided a deposits and day to day transactional banking deal for construction business Ashleigh (Scotland) Ltd which delivers a diverse range of projects for the private and public sectors across the south west and central Scotland. Ashleigh was keen to secure a new banking partnership with a proactive provider and identified Barclays as the bank to move forward with.
Jamie Grant, Head of Corporate Banking for Barclays in Scotland, commented: “It’s been a strong six months with excellent growth across a variety of sectors. Our funding has helped businesses to grow, enter new markets, restructure, make acquisitions and facilitate management buyouts. In difficult economic times we are clearly showing that Barclays is open for business and is here to help ambitious organisations reach their next milestone.
“Where some companies are scaling back, we are continuing to invest in Scotland as illustrated by our multi-million-pound, state-of-the-art campus in Glasgow which is currently under construction. This campus will create 2,500 new jobs and illustrates our commitment to our customers in the long term, providing certainty during unpredictable times. “Our new Scottish campus is already paying dividends as seen by our unprecedented level of new business leads during the first half of this financial year.