United Trust Bank (UTB) has brought out a block discounting service to offer funding to non-bank lenders who cannot fund their operations via retail consume deposits.
The venture will be headed up by UTB’s Julian Mellors (pictured) and was soft launched in October 2023.
The company said that it has several live facilities with small and medium-sized independent asset finance companies and is in various “stages of negotiation” with more partners.
The lender said it was targeting relationships with asset finance companies funding lease, hire purchase and loan contracts, and aims to pay out facility drawdowns on a same-day service.
Julian Mellors, head of block discounting at UTB, said: “Block discounting is a very good funding method for small and medium-sized non-bank finance companies. UTB has been considering entering this sector since last year as part of its product and market diversification strategy, and I was delighted to be selected to lead the creation of this new venture for the bank.
“We have designed our launch offering, which we will develop further over time, to cover most of the requirements of larger and small commercial asset finance lenders.”
Earlier this month, UTB expanded its residential and buy-to-let (BTL) range to include new-build properties.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.