Headcount boost for Edinburgh fintech LendingCrowd

LendingCrowd, the Edinburgh-headquartered fintech lending platform, has taken on four new senior business development managers as it looks to ramp up growth.

Adrian Innes is Lending-Crowds head of origination. Picture: Contributed

Chris Mitchell, who spent more than 15 years at Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank, will be the platform’s senior business development manager responsible for Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.

Anthony Allen, who is said to have more than a decade’s banking experience, is covering Glasgow and the Central Belt alongside Fraser McKay, who has held a variety of finance roles in a career spanning more than 30 years.

Keith Hunter, described as an experienced business developer and sales manager, will be working with businesses across Aberdeen and the North-east.

The new hires have pushed LendingCrowd’s headcount above 40, less than five years after the business was launched.

Adrian Innes, head of origination at LendingCrowd, said: “As the banks retract into call centres and continue to close their branches, we understand that customers want a face-to-face relationship with their funder.”

The expansion of the team follows the announcement in May that LendingCrowd had formed a unique funding partnership with the Government-backed Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) – the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise – and Dutch entrepreneurial bank NIBC.

SIB and NIBC have agreed to lend a combined £18.75 million across the platform.