GE Capital – More than a bank

GE Capital – More than a bank
Introduction by Ilaria del
Beato, CEO GE Capital UK
GE Capital provides smart financing
At GE Capital, we see ourselves as more than a
bank. We are a builder of UK business, both the
SME and Mid-Market, a partner who can bring
insight, knowledge and expertise to our customer
relationships. In order to increase confidence
amongst UK businesses and continue to support
wider UK growth, we recognise that it takes more
than money.
Thanks to our longstanding experience of
building and supporting growth, we understand that
there is a need to provide more than just financing.
Through our Access GE proposition, which we
launched in 2012, customers can now tap into GE’s
unique insights, tools and best practices to address
needs that go beyond financing. Our Access GE
team is composed of seasoned professionals
with the depth and breadth of experience and
resources that can help customers tackle their
biggest challenges, including: grow sales and
explore new markets, manage
costs, build a best-in-class
finance function, plan
and integrate a merger,
hire, develop and
retain talent, manage
regulatory, market and
competitive dynamics and
increase operational
effectiveness and
productivity.
We know that
better capital builds
better businesses.
July 2013
As one of the UK’s leading providers of specialised finance, the
team has helped to fund and build businesses over the last 40
years. Annually GE Capital supplies over £10 billion in finance
to over 40,000 UK businesses.
Businesses go through a life-cycle of different stages
and encounter challenges along the way. Often, these critical
moments lead a business to seek finance to achieve their
aspirations.
Invoice Finance and Asset Based Lending (ABL) provide an
alternative to traditional financing and can flex with a business
as it moves through each stage of its life-cycle. Invoice Finance
and ABL can be used extensively throughout different life-cycle
stages, whether meeting working capital needs, supporting
start-up, growth, merger and acquisition, turnaround, buyouts,
refinance/restructure and insolvency/rebirth.
In addition, as many UK businesses seek to access
opportunities overseas there is a very real requirement for
a funder, like GE Capital, with international knowledge and
expertise. The right funding partner should be able to provide
a clear support mechanism through which businesses can gain
the confidence they need to succeed and to grow organically
outside the UK, and indeed the EU.
Given the continued uncertainty in the economic
environment, alternative finance is becoming increasingly
important for business growth. GE Capital’s most recent
European Capex Barometer, surveying the spending intentions
of UK and European SMEs, shows that over a third (34%) of
UK SMEs would consider using a specialist lender. The survey
also found that there is a correlation between company size
and the likelihood of using alternative finance – a full 50%
of UK SMEs with 50-249 employees would be likely to use
alternative finance providers. The message is clear – as SMEs
grow, they can become less reliant on the major lenders and
look for a broader, more diverse range of funding to help them
grow. Many businesses are attracted to Invoice Finance and
ABL as an increasingly viable alternative to traditional lending,
due to favourable finance structures and more certainty for
the borrower.
For example, Invoice Finance helps businesses
in respect of the provision of short-term funding, the
improvement of cash flow, and greater flexibility and
transparency over the use of finance. In the UK, Invoice
Financing could drive £17.7 billion economic growth
per quarter and over three quarters of a million jobs by
2020 if used to its full potential.
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Regionally, what we are
seeing…
The North
The Midlands
In recent years, the market has seen significant
challenges, due to the prevailing economic
conditions. Last year the East of the Pennines was
particularly active but, this year, the reverse seems
to be true with greater activity and a growing
pipeline centred on the North West. Scotland
has been fertile ground for GE Capital and the
business has found both advisers and customers
seeking an alternative to the main banks, especially
one that is recognised as a major employer in the
area through its industrial heritage. In addition,
our new ABL Stretch product, which gives us
the opportunity to deliver increased quantum to
future deals, has been launched at an appropriate
time to help our prospective customers fulfill their
aspirations as we continue to deliver both flexible
and sustainable solutions.
The Midlands has been a true success story for GE
Capital in recent years and, despite a challenging
economic environment, the team has found
solutions to support the growth of businesses in
the area. In particular, GE Capital has helped to
support the automotive supply chain, which has
seen strong growth in recent times. In addition,
sectors such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals,
food manufacturing and packaging have all
presented new clients for GE Capital. Further
market sentiment illustrates that the M&A market
is gradually improving, with signs of increased
deal flow for both private equity led transactions
and traditional management buy outs, where
historically the GE Capital ABL offering has been
strong. This, coupled with our new ABL Stretch
product, should ensure that GE Capital offers a
competitive solution for our customers. As always,
GE Capital strives to increase our market share
and continues to offer an alternative to high street
banks.
The Corporate Market
To date, 2013 has been typified as a year of diverse
domestic and international financing requirements,
covering domestic UK, Pan-European and Cross
Border (UK-US/UK-Asia). Private Equity sponsors
have been more active than in 2012, and GE Capital
is evidencing increased transactional activity. No
specific sector bias has been in evidence with GE
Capital teams involved in, and closing transactions
in, the automotive, consumer, manufacturing,
support services, food processing, packaging and
equipment hire segments. Minimising the number
of bank relationships (and distribution risk) is a
recurring theme across our introducer base and
GE Capital is also evidencing increasing instances
of ABL’s co-existence with institutional investors in
capital structures.
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The South
The Southern market has historically seen
transactions such as MBOs, MBIs and, in
particular, Private Equity led deals. Since 2008,
that market has diminished but, there are signs
of a return to activity. Recent economic data
and a more positive outlook have resulted in a
much needed increase in business and investor
confidence. In turn, this has led to increasing
activity levels.
GE Capital continues to be active in the
re-finance market, as businesses look for more
supportive funding partners.
Business Money
July 2013
Meet the GE Capital Team
Ilaria del Beato
CEO, GE Capital UK
Ilaria has spent her 25-year career principally in the commercial real estate market, in equity and
financing roles, with advisors and investors, focussed on the UK and across Europe. She joined GE in
2003 and has led the UK Commercial Real Estate business since August 2008.
In March 2013 Ilaria was appointed CEO of GE Capital UK, to the UK Board and to lead the
Executive Team. Ilaria is responsible for delivering on the strategic imperatives for the business,
ensuring operational simplification and driving the commercial agenda.
Stephan Caron
Commercial Leader, GE Capital UK
For the last 12 years, Stephan has worked for GE in both Europe and the US. He has held positions in
structured finance, equity investing, and mergers and acquisitions, as well as roles as the European Head
of Healthcare Leveraged Finance and Life Sciences, and more recently as Head of Government Relations
and Strategic Partnerships.
Stephan is the Commercial Leader of GE Capital UK, with responsibility for a 200+ person sales
and marketing team covering ABL, invoice discounting, leasing, commercial distribution finance, corporate
aircraft finance and fleet services.
Stephan joined GE in 1999 from Suez, an international industrial and services group, where he worked in mergers and acquisitions
and international projects. Prior to Suez, Stephan was an associate for JP Morgan.
Darren Millard
Business Optimisation Leader, GE Capital UK
Darren has worked in the ABL industry for 24 years. He spent eight years at Barclays before joining
the first GE Commercial Finance, Business Finance team, as it was known then, in the UK in 1997.
He is the only member of the original team of six still with the GE Capital UK business. Darren has
held a number of senior management positions in the business covering Risk, Sales, Audit and
Operations. As Business Optimisation Leader for GE Capital UK, Darren’s primary focus rests on
driving the growth and efficiency of the ABL platform whilst chairing the local management team.
Adam Johnson
Managing Director, GE Capital UK, Corporate Structured Finance
Adam’s career in Corporate and Mid-Market banking spans 25 years. Over this period he has worked with
the likes of Barclays, Hill Samuel, Rabobank, WestLB and GE Capital focussing on structured finance, capital
market, risk, restructuring and relationship management.
Adam joined GE Capital seven years ago as the Managing Director for the Corporate Structured Finance
segment of the business. Adam and his team offer structured ABL solutions comprising receivables finance,
inventory finance, ABL and cross-border finance to UK and Pan-European Corporates with turnovers in
excess of £100 million per annum and funding requirements of between £15 million and £500 million.
July 2013
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Meet the GE Capital Team
Alan Austin
Director of Business Development - South, GE Capital UK, Commercial Finance
Alan has worked in the ABL industry for 15 years, initially with Alex Lawrie/Lloyds TSB Commercial
Finance before moving on to Enterprise Finance Europe (part of the Bank of Ireland), Landsbanki,
and KBC Business Capital. His roles have always been commercial in nature.
Three years ago Alan joined the team at GE Capital where he leads the Business Development
Team covering the South and East regions. The team was recently expanded with the appointment
of Jamie Gould.
Paul Edmeades
Director of Business Development - Midlands, GE Capital, Commercial Finance
Having joined the industry in 1993, originally with NMB Heller and then GE, Paul has spent the last 20
years working across multiple functions, namely Audit, Portfolio, Underwriting and Commercial. Seven
years ago Paul was presented with the opportunity to head up the Commercial team for GE Capital in
the Midlands and South West region. He relocated from the South East to Birmingham. Paul’s team has
developed strong relationships with the introducer base in the Midlands and continues to deliver for the
customer.
Simon Wells
Director of Business Development - North, GE Capital, Commercial Finance
Simon has worked in the industry for 24 years, firstly with Causeway Invoice Discounting (which
became Five Arrows), later joining NMB Heller, prior to its acquisition by GE in 2003. GE then
acquired Five Arrows in 2008, which nicely closes the circle. Simon has always worked in the new
business environment, primarily as a New Business Development Manager in the Midlands and then
running a team covering the North from Staffordshire to Northumberland and now incorporating
Scotland.
GE Capital Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential
Regulation Authority to accept deposits
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Business Money
July 2013