Meet the Expert: Henry Ranshaw, Regional Sales Manager

Here he discusses his favourite part of the role and what he is looking forward to at MACH 2024.

Briefly tell us about your role and what you do…

I am a Regional Sales Manager within the manufacturing team at Close Brothers Asset Finance, managing a team who service London and the South East of England. My role consists of assisting my team in building relationships and structuring tailored finance packages, as well as looking after my existing and new customer base.

Close Brothers Asset Finance is a firm believer in taking the time to visit customers face to face, which really helps us to understand specific needs and requirements. This ensures we can put together bespoke funding packages that really help businesses maximise their investments.

I spend a lot of time out and about visiting businesses, building relationships and increasing my industry knowledge which keeps me up to date with any changes or shared challenges within the sector, which I can then use to further assist my customers.

What was your journey to Close Brothers Asset Finance?

I joined Close Brothers Asset Finance in September 2015 as part of the first Sales Academy cohort. This was a big change to my previous line of work as a foreman within groundworks as a heavy machine operator.

As much as I enjoyed operating big plant, I wanted to move into a role that was more relationship driven, so when the opportunity arose for the Sales Academy, it was too good to miss.

I graduated from the Sales Academy as an Area Sales Manager where I spent the next few years building my network of customers and industry specialists, progressing to my current role of Regional Sales Manager.

What’s your favourite part of the role?

Manufacturing is such a broad sector, which ranges from engineering and woodworking to food production and textiles. This variety means that no two days are the same. I enjoy learning about each business and the journey they took and this job has given me the opportunity to gain an understanding of lots of sectors within UK manufacturing and just how much crosses over into our everyday life and the work that goes on behind the scenes.

I enjoy challenging and complex finance structuring, whether that be facilitating management buy outs, multi asset refinancing to raise capital or ‘story book lends’ as these really require fully understanding day to day operations and future plans for the business.

Witnessing longstanding relationships develop into business success stories is a personal highlight for me. Knowing that I have played a part in assisting growth for businesses across the UK is extremely fulfilling.

Can you give us an example of a time where asset finance has helped one of your customers?

We recently tailored a finance package for a well-known fresh juice manufacturer who had experienced rapid growth with large orders from major UK retailers. This meant that they needed to heavily invest in new factory equipment under a strict deadline to meet the requirements of the new contracts.

The customer had machinery coming from the UK, Europe and the USA as well as a move to a new factory to contend with. To ease cash flow, we structured a low start payment profile, increasing in increments of 3 months for the first year of the agreement to allow the machinery to be installed and the new contracts to commence before standard repayments continued.

We also included all their previous existing finance agreements into the new offering, further reducing their monthly commitments and ultimately putting less strain on cash flow during a huge turning point for the business. This is one of many examples where we have really listened to specific requirements and understood the business’s need when shaping finance offerings.

What do you think 2024 holds for the Manufacturing industry?

The UK manufacturing industry is strong, rising from 9th to 8th in the global manufacturing rankings in 2023 and we are seeing a real up-turn following the dip caused by the pandemic. There is a renewed confidence in businesses investing in new machinery to service increased workload across all aspects of manufacturing which shows continued growth.

I am seeing a big growth in the food and drink sector which is also confirmed as the largest division with the UK manufacturing sector at 21%. I am looking forward to the year to come, establishing new and continuing existing relationships with SMEs across the UK.

What are you most looking forward to at MACH 2024?

MACH 2024 is a fantastic opportunity to liaise with existing and new customers as well as suppliers under one roof, while learning what the future of the engineering sector holds. With all the newest and advanced technology being showcased we can really see where the future of UK manufacturing is headed. Being at the event will give us the ability to work with visitors to offer financial assistance and potentially complete finance packages there and then at the show!