Grow announces new head of structured finance & payments

Leading non-bank business lender, Grow Finance, today announces the appointment of Andrew Speers as Managing Partner, Structured Finance and Payments (ex-CBA General Manager of Working Capital). Speers’ has been appointed to the strategic leadership team. He will primarily be responsible for launching new client lending solutions, such as Asset Based Lending (ABL), which will enable SMEs to access cash flow ‘trapped’ in purchased inventory and credit terms. In particular, Speers’ focus will be on building out the Groups’ trade and invoice finance products.

“Grow is going to become the ‘non-bank of choice’ for businesses borrowing up to five million dollars. Andrew and his team will be instrumental in evolving our working capital division, with a focus on achieving scale via new generation product development and extended distribution via the broker network,” said Co-CEO, David Verschoor.

Co-CEO Greg Woszczalski concurred, stating that “Andrew is an industry innovator and has a long track record in delivering change and product developments. Importantly, he’s aligned with our vision, passion, and energy to sustain our growth trajectory and enable SMEs greater access to asset finance and working capital solutions.”

“We’re seeing a lot of market turbulence, which is having an immediate knock-on effect on the demand for funding. Notably, supply chains are shifting from ‘just in time,’ to ‘just in case.’ Cash is King again, and raising interest rates will push affordability to shorter-term working capital loans. In addition, businesses want to utilise their business assets for security, opposed to using their homes as collateral,” said Speers.

“Particularly in this market, brokers hold a unique position to advise their clients through these current economic conditions, prices are rising, markets are volatile, and now more than every business need cash flow,” Speers continued.

Speers has worked in banking and finance globally for over 20 years. In addition to launching the working capital facility and relaunched CBA’s invoice finance facility, Speers has worked with HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland (NatWest), and NAB. He actively seeks high-growth businesses and is a self-proclaimed ‘trade geek,’ has a passion for international trade.

Grow was recently recognised as the #1 fastest-growing company in the 2021 AFR Fast 100 following a 549% YOY increase in revenue. Growth is sustained through continual platform enhancements, next-generation product development, a recent sales team restructure to streamline broker engagement and loan processing, and progressive team extension. This includes a dedicated dealer and floorplan product group, led by James Ross, Managing Partner, supported by Isabelle Marolho.

“The completion of the recent c.$35M capital raise and c.$450M in new warehouse capacity allows Grow to remain agile, tech-driven, and product-focused while gaining the capital support needed to drive the business forward. It also means we can become even sharper with our rates,” concluded Verschoor.