The SME lender’s parent company Tradehold Group – which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and whose chairman is South African retail tycoon Christo Wiese – announced that Reward Finance has also grown its income by almost 20% to £4.4m.

In September, the alternative lender received a £40m investment from Foresight Group, which allowed it to double the amount of funds it had available to lend to SMEs.

Christo said: “Reward Finance continues to be successful because it aggressively addresses a gap in the market caused by the continuing volatility in the UK business environment.

•   Reward Finance grows Manchester office
•   Reward Finance Group appoints new commercial director
•   Reward Finance secures £40m investment

“This has resulted in banks and other mainstream lenders becoming increasingly reluctant to grant loans to smaller businesses.”

Tom Flannery, joint managing director at Reward Finance (pictured above, left), added: “We sent a clear message out to the industry earlier this year when we announced that we had doubled our lending capability with a £40m investment from the Foresight Group. 

“Following this, September and October have just seen back-to-back record months for deal numbers.

“We have also continued to strengthen our team in both Leeds and Manchester by appointing some of the most experienced and well-connected people within the sector.

“Small- and medium-sized businesses are becoming increasingly frustrated at being held back either because banks won’t lend to them or the form-filling and decision-making process takes far too long.

“Reward Finance is very much ‘open for business’ and is keen to provide the necessary funding to help SMEs grow and become even more successful.”