Barclays makes new appointments as it grows Scottish SME business

Barclays has announced two key appointments to its Business Banking team as it continues to extend its on-the-ground support for Scottish SMEs and scale-up businesses.

Graham Cambridge has been named High Growth & Entrepreneur Business Manager and Grant McNally as Business Manager to help deliver what the bank says is its “ambitious growth strategy in Scotland”.

Mr Cambridge will take responsibility for managing a portfolio of high-growth SME companies with up to £6.5m turnover as the Business Banking division’s first dedicated High Growth & Entrepreneur Business Manager in Scotland.

His role will involve further expanding the local delivery of Barclays’ successful High Growth & Entrepreneurs strategy, which aims to help business realise their potential at the often challenging scale-up stage.

He started his career with Barclays as an intern in 2013, before progressing through the bank’s Corporate Banking graduate programme where he gained experience across a variety of sectors.

Mr McNally’s new role as Business Manager, meanwhile, will focus on business development in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, supporting companies with turnover of up to £5m. His appointment comes as the bank is undertaking a recruitment drive for five additional regional Business Managers to strengthen its presence across Scotland.

He joined Barclays through its Corporate Banking graduate scheme in 2012, working in business analyst and relationship support roles for a broad range of clients, from PLCs to high growth starts-ups.

Both will report into Head of SME Stuart Brown who is leading the bank’s drive to grow the bank’s SME and high-growth clients in Scotland.

Stuart Brown, Head of SME Scotland, Barclays said: “Following the launch of our £500m SME fund last year, the time was right to expand our Business Banking team in Scotland.

“We strongly believe in a relationship approach to supporting business owners on their journey, whether they are start-ups, scale-ups or well-established. As our SME client base grows we are investing in the right people on the ground in the regions to understand their individual needs to then guide and advise them. Graham and Grant are homegrown Barclays talent and their skills and experience will help us further strengthen our relationships with existing and new customers.”

Barclays’ Scottish SME fund was launched in June 2016 to provide access to funding for businesses across all sectors with turnover up to £25m. It forms part of a wider commitment by the bank to support fast-growing companies with its High Growth & Entrepreneurs programme.

The programme offers locally delivered financial advice, business skills development, networking opportunities at a local, national and international level and access to Eagle Labs and RISE accelerators.

The Bank also provides a unique Innovation Finance Venture Debt product via an additional £200m fund.