Brad Coppens has become State Manager, Business Development, Victoria. Tony Ahdore has been appointed Manager - Business Development for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, to drive the business in the southern region.
Mr Coppens has extensive experience in the debtor finance and equipment leasing arena, having most recently been a leading Business Development Manager with the Scottish Pacific Benchmark Group.
"Bibby has a proud history with solid UK foundations. It is renowned for empowering senior sales people to approve deals and the Australian operation is focused on growth and writing and retaining business," says Brad.
"It's a challenging time for business owners. The property market is cooling at the same time as low-doc loans have become harder to access. With interest rates on the rise, serviceability is difficult, which means many small businesses that were previously using a line of credit or overdraft against the equity in the director's home, are having to look elsewhere to ensure their operating cash flow can be funded.
"Those without property have always found bank support difficult to obtain. Bibby has the largest product range in the debtor finance market and is perfectly placed to quickly assist clients who are either new to debtor finance or those who are looking to restructure away from their bank facilities," he added.
Brad's appointment is part of Bibby's continuing expansion in Australia, supported recently with several new products, including IDPlus+, a packaged financing solution with a debtor finance facility that lends against stock, property and plant and equipment.
Greg Charlwood, Managing Director of Bibby Financial Services Australia commented: "Demand for Bibby's debtor finance solutions is increasing in Australia and also internationally, as SMEs seek to sure up their cash flow and release additional working capital to fund their business in an increasingly challenging business environment.
"Flexibility is also now regarded as a more important factor when choosing a financial partner. Business owners want real understanding and an established partner who is ready and willing to support them.
"Demand is also expanding quite quickly internationally. We established a new business in Germany, Bibby Financial Services GmbH, based in Düsseldorf earlier this month," Mr Charlwood added.
The UK-based Debtor Finance specialist, Bibby Financial Services, now operates through a network of 32 companies in 11 countries, and services clients nationally.
Media contact:
Kathy Tricolas, FCR, (02) 8264 1008 or 0412 929 191 or Brian Mahoney 0413 437 627
