Meet the Fund Managers:
Business Doncaster invites you to come and meet the local funders. If you are a business looking for funding to grow your business or an intermediatory working with businesses looking for funding, then this event is for you.
Presenters include:
Manuel Fantin - UK Export Finance
- UK Export Finance (UKEF) is the UK government’s export credit agency. We support UK exporters, international project sponsors and buyers of UK goods and services; in the year 2023-24, we provided £8.8 billion in new, direct support for UK exports by working alongside over 100 banks and lenders to provide flexible, innovative and competitive financing solutions. UKEF can support companies large and small all over the country and across a range of sectors with their exports, from capital goods to services and intangibles such as intellectual property. Last year, 88% of the companies we directly supported with a UKEF product were SMEs, with 80% of those based outside of London. Find out more on how UK Export Finance can support you, visit: ukexportfinance.gov.uk
Andy McKenna - Access to Finance SYMCA
- Andrew is an experienced finance professional with over 35 years’ experience in several senior roles. Until 2012 Andrew worked in corporate banking for Yorkshire Bank. Since then, Andrew has worked in various fields, such as business development for alternative lending organisations and working for several local authorities, undertaking due diligence on the assessment of various grant funding streams. Andrew has been part of the Growth Hub Advisory Team since 2015 working with hundreds of businesses looking for funding support for growth projects and signposting them to various funding and grant schemes, supporting them with investment readiness and general advice. He is a Board Member for the Regional Advisory Board of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and the SCR Jessica Urban Development Fund.
Katie Roberts & Andy Castle - Allica Bank
- Katie is a senior local relationship manager for Allica Bank in the North. She lives in Worksop with her husband and two children. A passionate traveller, one day she dreams of driving the length of Route 66 in a campervan. Before joining Allica, Katie spent most of her time working for Lloyds Bank, supporting small and medium-sized businesses across the East Midlands and in Yorkshire. While there, she became Lloyds’ youngest female national area director and launched its education banking offering. By the time she left, she had made Lloyds the largest provider by market share in the region for that sector. When not speaking to business owners about their plans, Katie is also a die-hard Liverpool FC fan. When on the field herself, though, she prefers a hockey stick to football boots.
- As an Allica Bank relationship manager for the North East, Andy supports businesses across the region with the tailored and personalised financial expertise they need to make informed decisions. I have helped businesses operating in all sectors, from retail, leisure, transport, manufacturing, healthcare, and construction, along with property investment and development. I live just outside of York with my wife and two sons. In my spare time I like to keep fit by running and cycling in the hope of being able to keep up with my 2 sons!
Agenda:
8-8:30am Arrival & Refreshments 8:30am Presentations
- Welcome & Intro by Sue Harrison & Andy McKenna
- UK Export Finance Presentation by Manuel Fantin
- Preview of the South Yorkshire Equity Platform by Andy McKenna
- Allica Bank Presentation by Katie Roberts and Andy Castle
- Q&A session
10-10:30am Networking
