A dedicated Investment Manager who has been helping businesses across the region to overcome barriers to growth for nearly a decade has single-handedly delivered more than £20 million of loan funding, with nearly half of that amount being achieved during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tim Daniels joined Doncaster-based alternative lending provider Finance For Enterprise in 2012. Drawing on a long career in business banking which spanned over 30 years, Tim recognised many viable businesses often found themselves facing uncertain futures because they were unable to secure the vital funds needed to realise the potential in their business ideas.

In March 2020, Finance For Enterprise was appointed as a delivery partner for the British Business Bank backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Since that time, Tim has acted tirelessly to help a wide range of businesses to not only navigate their way through the Covid-19 pandemic, successfully helping companies across the region to access more than £8 million during the past twelve months alone, helping some of the businesses hardest hit by the pandemic including companies operating in the retail, hospitality and leisure, manufacturing and healthcare sectors.

Since joining Finance For Enterprise, Tim has helped hundreds of businesses across the region, helping to create and safeguard thousands of jobs in the local and regional economy, whilst enabling businesses to secure the vital funds needed to realise their growth potential. His efforts were recognised in 2016 when he was named Outstanding Loan Officer of the Year at the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards.

Prior to joining Finance For Enterprise, Tim enjoyed a successful career in business banking, which spanned over 30 years. Keen to embrace a new challenge and drawing on his extensive banking expertise, Tim launched his own business in 2010 to help SMEs access loan funding. Two years later he joined the Finance For Enterprise, where he has successfully helped businesses to access £20 million in business loan funding.

Tim Daniels, Senior Investment Manager, Finance for Enterprise said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the business landscape beyond all recognition, and I feel quite honoured to have played a small part in helping businesses across the region during a particularly challenging twelve months.

“I joined Finance For Enterprise in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, a time when many businesses really struggled to access financial support. It was incredibly refreshing to join an organisation that recognised the vital role SMEs play in helping to build a stronger local and regional economy, something which remains just as vital today as it did when I first joined the organisation.”

Andrew Austwick, Managing Director, Finance For Enterprise said: “Reaching a £20 million lending milestone is an incredibly significant achievement. It illustrates the vital contribution Tim has played in helping businesses to prosper and grow, not just over the past twelve months, but during his long career with Finance For Enterprise.

“Behind the headline figures are quite literally hundreds of business owners which have been able to play a vital role in creating jobs and playing their part in building a stronger regional economy. Tim’s contributions have been vital to achieving this.

“To put Tim’s achievements into some context, it took Finance For Enterprise 25 years to reach the £25 million lending milestone across the whole organisation. It’s taken Tim less than a decade to single-handedly deliver £20 million in loan funding, often providing a vital lifeline to enable business owners to innovate and evolve.

“In 2019/20 the total amount of loan funding Finance For Enterprise delivered was £10.5m. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Tim has helped business owners to access £8m, which illustrates the vital contribution he made to help SMEs to overcome the challenges they have faced and the enormous contribution he made during the past twelve months should not be underestimated.”

Finance For Enterprise provides a range of tailored loans up to £250,000, aimed at supporting SMEs throughout Yorkshire and the North Midlands. The company is a delivery partner for the British Business Bank-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and acts as fund manager for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and Start Up Loans UK.