With SMEs planning for the future and increasing asset investment, Carole Luck, Business Development Manager of Paragon’s broker team, discusses how the sector has performed and what she enjoys most about working with brokers.

Now that we have reached the third quarter, how has the broker sector fared this year?

Despite the inflationary environment, we have seen consistent levels of business from brokers, with SMEs continuing to plan for the future and investing in new equipment for new contracts or overdue replacement of older assets where supply has previously been an issue.

What services can Paragon provide to brokers – and how can we help them? 

Paragon is proud to support a large portfolio of broker introducers by providing flexible finance options and tailored funding solutions for their customers.  Brokers have access to our dedicated Broker Portal for loading proposals which are submitted directly to our in-house credit team. With e-sign capability and same-day pay-outs, we offer a fast, efficient service.

Also, if they have a proposal they would like to discuss with us or a question they’d like to ask, we’d be delighted to speak with them to find out how we can help.

How did you get started in asset finance?

I moved from a high street bank into asset finance after working for a local niche asset funder that specialised in soft assets and dealt directly with suppliers.  Since then, I have worked for two other well-known asset finance companies, working solely with brokers and dealing with a much broader spectrum of customers, assets, and deals.

How long have you worked at Paragon – and what do you enjoy most about your role? 

I have been at Paragon for just over a year.  In my role as Business Development Manager, I really enjoy my interacting with brokers and getting deals from proposals to pay out as quickly as possible, particularly the more challenging ones!

The relationship between brokers and lenders is central to delivering growth for not only businesses but also the wider economy – and I look forward to continuing Paragon’s work with our broker partners to deliver for fantastic SMEs.

Visit our website to learn more about how our Asset Finance team works with intermediaries.