Growth Finance Awards announces full list of finalists
A COMPREHENSIVE list of all finalists for the inaugural 2019 Growth Finance Awards has now been unveiled, with peer-to-peer lenders competing in a number of categories.
The 47 finalists, all providers of debt to UK businesses, were announced by Intelligent Partnership, which is running the awards.
The Growth Finance Awards acknowledge the finance companies supporting growing businesses in the UK. Peer2Peer Finance News is a media partner of the event and will be presenting an award on the night.
Lenders recognised by the awards provided around £79.7bn of funding to growing businesses last year, helping them to expand, boost productivity, and to create jobs. Amongst the finalists are P2P platforms including LendingCrowd, Assetz Capital, Blend Network.
“The Growth Finance Awards rightly celebrate the diverse business finance landscape now available to SMEs,” Stephen Jones, chief executive of trade association UK Finance said.
“Ensuring businesses get the right finance for them, at the right time, is critical. UK Finance members continue to approve over 80 per cent of finance applications and despite an uncertain economic backdrop, help support resilient businesses to grow and thrive.”
The ‘best P2P business lender’ award will be presented to the P2P lender providing a growth finance product or service that has delivered a clear and demonstrable business impact to SMEs over the past 12 months. The platform will demonstrate a best-in-class digital platform, transparency, as well as ample resources for both borrowers and lenders.
The seven finalists are: LendingCrowd, Blend Network, Kuflink, Formax Credit, Assetz Capital, CrowdProperty and Crowd2Fund.
Read more: P2P lenders feature heavily in list of Growth Finance finalists
The ‘specialist lender of the year’ award recognises the creative use of finance to businesses in a specific sector. Finalists include Blend Network, Amberside Capital, Triple Point Investment Management, Kreos Capital, Catalyst Business Finance, Ask Inclusive Finance, Woodsford TradeBridge, and Downing.
In the ‘digital lender of the year’ category are: Capital on Tap, TradeRiver UK, LendingCrowd, and CORDET. The award recognises digital innovation that enhances the borrowing experience, providing information in a frictionless manner.
Both ArchOver and Kuflink are finalists for the ‘innovative product of the year’ award, alongside Innovate UK Loans and Tide. The award will recognise a growth finance product that has delivered innovation over the past 12 month, delivering outstanding results for an SME, a sector or the industry through innovation.
Read more: ArchOver warns of “funding crisis” as banks turn their back on SMEs
ArchOver also appears in the ‘direct lending platform of the year’ category which includes Invocap, CORDET, TradeRiver UK, and 365 Business Finance.
Crowd bonds platform Crowd for Angels has been named as a finalist for the ‘best use of technology’ award, competing with Simply, Tide, and Henry Howard Finance.
The finalists in the ‘venture debt provider of the year’ category are: Columbia Lake Partners, Shawbrook Bank, Barclays, and Finstock.
Amongst the finalists in the ‘best invoice finance provider’ category are Banking Circle, Satago Financial Solutions, Ultimate Finance, and MarketInvoice.
Read more: MarketInvoice: SMEs favour invoice finance over business loans for growth
The ‘best challenger bank’ category is contested by Redwood Bank, Tandem Bank, OakNorth, and Wyelands Bank.
The ‘best fund manager’ category has five finalists including CORDET, RM Funds, Downing, Kreos Capital, and Triple Point.
The finalists for the ‘best marketing campaign’ award include Funding Options, Henry Howard Finance, Barclays, and Wyelands Bank and the finalists for the ‘best customer experience’ award are: Just Cash Flow, Simply, Henry Howard Finance, Growthdeck, and Barclays Eagle Labs.
Finalists in the ‘best place to work’ category are Redwood Bank, Henry Howard Finance, Cubefunder, and Growthdeck.
The winners will be announced at a black-tie dinner hosted by Claudia Winkleman for 400 guests on Wednesday 11 September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.
“I look forward to shining a much-needed spotlight on all of these providers on 11 September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. To reach the finalist stage among such a stand-out set of entrants is a huge achievement,” Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership said.
“Our aim is to educate businesses about the diverse range of financing options to help them start-up, scale-up and stay-up.”
The full list of categories can be viewed here. For further information please visit growthfinanceawards.com.
