INTERVIEW
WINTER 13
work placements with SMEs, which enables businesses to access cutting-edge thinking from the UK’s graduate population. What about the international aspect, and the fact that Santander is Spanishowned – has this impeded the bank’s UK operations? Santander UK is a fully autonomous subsidiary of its Spanish parent. It is separately regulated by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, has its own balance sheet, and undertakes its own fundraising. It is one of the strongest of the UK banks with a Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.4%. Indeed, Santander has been the only major and successful challenger in SME banking to the incumbent four high street banks in the UK in recent decades. With signs that the economy is improving, what’s Santander offering to businesses for the future? The important thing with Santander is that you get the right solution for your business – whatever the economy is doing. In the West Midlands, the economy does appear to be bouncing back, led by a resurgent manufacturing sector, and we are active in seeking to support local businesses in driving up turnover both at home and overseas. Businesses with sales over £250,000pa receive their own relationship director based in one of our offices in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton or Worcester, each of them supported by a team of people to deliver a first-class service to our customers. We are committed to spending time to getting to know our customers so that we truly understand their needs and, of course, deliver against them. We do what we say we will do, every time. What does the Government need to focus on to help banks help industry? And what about firms themselves – what can they do to ease their access to finance? In my view, the Government provides a lot of financial support for businesses, but businesses do not necessarily know how to access it. If I am honest, I work in financial services and I often find it difficult to keep up with what is on offer to help a business. What we need is a
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 13
Leon Marklew Born and brought up: 9 May 1966, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire. Education: Havelock Comprehensive School and Sheffield University (Geography). Career details: Midland Bank, HSBC and Santander. Current job: Regional director, West Midlands, Santander Corporate & Commercial. Where do you live? Milton Keynes. Family: Two adult children, both in education. Car: BMW 6 Series. Dream car: Aston Martin DB9! Favourite holiday destination: United States. Hobbies: Fly-fishing, exercise, football.
really clear signposting mechanism along with a streamlined application process to ensure the money gets to those that really need it, and in a timely and effective manner. Can you detail two or three good examples of Santander’s funding successes? The team at Santander work hard to understand where businesses want to be and not just where they have come from, and it is all about broadening and deepening relationships. A great example of this is
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Engineering Technology Group, the machine tools distributor and manufacturer based in Warwickshire. They contacted my colleague, Sally Beavan, following a previous contact with her at a former employer. They were looking to refinance their working capital and also for funding to support a management buyout. We delivered a bespoke package to John Temple and his team including a term loan, invoice discounting, overdraft and a commercial mortgage to provide adequate working capital and headroom, which enabled the business to be driven forward. The key thing for the customer was due to the fact we based our decision on the business’ potential, and we were able to provide funding for the deal without John and his team having to release equity to an external shareholder. The funding also enabled the company to acquire the UK business of machine tools giant, Hardinge Inc, in what has been hailed as a landmark case in the machine tools industry. Another example of our relationship banking in action is our partnership with the Solihullbased veterinary practice, YourVets. The business had been growing organically over several years, but began to find it difficult to generate enough money to maintain their rapid expansion. The company explored several alternate sources of funding, but were reluctant to surrender equity. The Santander relationship director took the time to understand the mechanics of the business and the issues that were inhibiting growth. Santander provided YourVets with a tailored solution based on a deep understanding of the company’s needs, as well as enrolling the company in their ‘Breakthrough’ programme. Since receiving funding, YourVets enjoys greater certainty in planning for the future: the company has already expanded by around 25% and as part of the bank’s ‘Breakthrough’ programme is geared for further aggressive growth. Why should businesses choose Santander? Because our focus is on relationships. Getting to know a business inside out is key to our decision-making process. Only by fully understanding a business can we tailor solutions to meet its needs. n