Van Dort (pictured, left) will work with Terry Lloyd (pictured, right), head of vendor, and focus on business development and strategic growth.
He joins from DLL, where he has worked for around nine years, most recently as global pay per use director. Prior to that, he spent nine years at GE Capital, starting as UK strategic relationship director and working his way up to UK business development director.
The firm said the hire aligns with its “strategic focus” to “grow its vendor and direct channels, leveraging robust infrastructure, advanced technology and a strengthened credit appetite developed over the past year”.
Paragon Bank noted that it was aiming to accelerate growth across intralogistics, materials handling, access equipment, waste, ports and terminals, aerial work platforms and more.
The SME lending division, which is celebrating its 10th year of business, currently works with over 16,000 UK SMEs and has grown its loan book fourfold over the past decade.
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Stewart Good (pictured, middle), Paragon’s sales director of SME lending, said: “This appointment is a clear statement of intent from Paragon SME Lending. Richard’s experience and expertise will bring huge value to our business, and his appointment represents a significant investment in our long-term ambitions to become the funder of choice for UK SMEs and vendors. We are ready to expand our direct capabilities, support SMEs on their growth journeys and maintain the highest standards of service as we continue to grow.”
Van Dort added: “I’ve watched Paragon’s growth and admired the team’s ambition for some time. The attraction of working with a UK-based funder with agility, talented people and a clear strategy and defined markets was a real draw for me.
“In this role, I plan to grow a foothold across a range of sectors – waste, transport, healthcare, trailers, aviation and intralogistics, to name a few – and to build sustainable, long-term partnerships based on trust and responsiveness. Now more than ever, customers want lenders that do what they say, offering flexibility and tailoring products suitable to their needs. Paragon truly delivers on that promise.”
