Meet the Expert: Kevin Byrne

Here he discusses his favourite part of the role and his predictions for the sector over the coming 12 months.

Briefly tell us about your role and what you do…

I joined Close Brothers Asset Finance in September 2013 meaning that I am celebrating 10 years with the business which fills me with great pride and achievement. I am currently a Regional Sales Manager within the Scotland team; my day-to-day responsibilities consist of managing a large portfolio of existing customers in the west coast of Scotland. Whilst managing existing customers, I am also always out and about visiting new customers, learning their challenges, and working with them to help grow their businesses. This requires a deep knowledge of both the industries we work across and the assets that we fund, this knowledge allows us to provide firmer lending decisions and faster access to funds when clients need them the most. Helping businesses with bespoke packages to achieve their business goals is essential to our success. In addition to looking after my own customers, I manage a team of sales managers, offering support to their growth and development.

What was your journey to Close Brothers Asset Finance?

I have worked in the Banking and Finance industry for 22 years in a variety of roles. I initially joined Close Brothers as a Telesales co-ordinator in 2013. This involved mainly calling prospects and existing customers daily to build relationships and seek out opportunities for our sales team in Scotland.

In 2015 an opportunity arose to apply for the very first Close Brothers Sales Academy. After a very thorough recruitment process I was offered a position within the Glasgow Transport team as an Area Sales Manager. In 2022 I was promoted to Regional Sales Manager in Scotland. In my long career, Close Brothers as an employer and business in my opinion are second to none. They look to hire, nurture, and promote at every opportunity with no ceiling for achievement and that makes them such a great place to work.

What’s your favourite part of the role?

My favourite part of the role is finding customers who we can form a long-term partnership with, this allows us to work with them over a number of years to grow their business from a small one with little infrastructure to a larger business. In a lot of cases the businesses we work with can go UK wide and sometimes worldwide, but we still work with them as a partnership, offering our expertise and funding. The sense of achievement I feel in assisting our customers to grow their business never ceases.

Give us an example of a deal structure that demonstrates how you can you help a customer

Listening to our customers and providing individual tailored finance packages is vital to their business. Recently I put together an agreement to purchase an asset for a long-term customer who provides motorhomes. This involved a deferral of VAT until the 3rd monthly payment to preserve their cash flow but also a seasonal payment structure reflecting the high and low income months the business experiences due to demand for their vehicles. As well as resulting in a delighted customer this allowed the business to maintain their payments comfortably.

What are your top 2 predictions for your sector in the coming 12 months?

From speaking to partners and customers in our sectors I think next year will see a reduced wait time for new assets to arrive on our customers premises. This has been an issue in a variety of sectors since Covid-19 and has affected businesses in delivering their goals. By reducing this wait time, it will see a renewed confidence for customers in moving forward their business plans and achieving their targets.

2023 has also seen a cycle of base rate rises which in turn affects the markets control over rates for our valued end user, our customers. We should see in the second half of 2024 base rates decreasing which in turn provides a more favourable lending package outlook for our business and the industry moving forward.