Finance Yorkshire makes a trio of director appointments

Finance Yorkshire has appointed three experienced directors to its board.

Arnu Misra, Sara Parker and Andy Tupholme join following the launch of Finance Yorkshire’s new fund in 2021, which is expected to provide more than £50m to SMEs over the next five years.

The new fund has been structured to provide SMEs with a range of support through Seedcorn and Growth Fund (primarily equity) investments, alongside large and small Business Loans.

Arnu has 30 years’ senior-level experience within the retail, home improvement, clothing, leisure and food manufacturing sectors. He is a former chief operating officer at Matalan and chief executive of Nisa Retail. Arnu is also co-founder of premium drinks business Combined Foods and a non-executive director at Circularity Scotland Limited.

Sara is an experienced director, who has delivered growth across multiple commercial roles in fintech and tech. Her former roles include product director for VocaLink/Mastercard and chief product officer for Mutual Vision, a fintech business targeting building societies.

Sara advises scaling businesses on go-to-market strategy and funding. She is a non-executive director of NorthInvest, an angel network specialising in tech start-ups across the North of England.

Andy is an experienced board director with a focus on strategy, finance, mergers and acquisitions. He is a private equity fund partner with 20 years’ UK investment experience and also coaches senior managament teams. He is a non-executive director at Key Fund, the north’s largest social enterprise investment fund.

James Newman, Chair of Finance Yorkshire, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to add the collective skills and experience of Arnu, Sara and Andy to our board. Their input will be valuable as Finance Yorkshire focuses on providing investment that will unlock the growth potential of innovative and entrepreneurial businesses across our region, especially those that face the challenge of access to finance.”

Retiring from the board are directors Tony Parsons and David Bagley. James Newman paid tribute to both of them, saying: “Tony and David have been with Finance Yorkshire since it was created and have helped to oversee one of the most successful funds of its type. Their expertise and experience will be sorely missed and we thank them for their contribution to a happy and successful board.”