Paragon supports UK SMEs with £200m of new lending
Paragon Bank’s SME Lending division continued its support of UK small-to-medium sized businesses during the first half of its financial year with over £200m of new lending, the company announced today.
The division lent £200.7m in the six months to the end of March 2020, growing its net loan book to £606.6m. Paragon’s pre-tax profits for the period stood at £57.1m.
Paragon’s SME Lending division focuses primarily on providing asset and invoice finance to companies in the construction, transport logistics, manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
John Phillipou, Paragon SME Lending managing director, said: “We have been pleased with the performance of Paragon’s SME Lending division during the first half of the financial year, particularly the post-election period from December when more political certainty helped instill confidence in the UK’s SMEs.
“Clearly, coronavirus has impacted that confidence and we have been working closely with our customers to support them through this period. As well as joining the Government’s lending schemes, we have been staying in contact with our customers to discuss how the pandemic is affecting them and what support they need.”
Paragon has supported customers through the use of payment holidays and interest-only repayments, whilst the company is also participating in the British Business Bank Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce-Bank Loan Scheme (BBLS), providing funding to SMEs under a government guarantee.
John Phillipou added: “Many British businesses are doing their best to navigate through this difficult period. We are with them throughout this and doing all we can to support our customers.”