Acorn.finance – your funding team;
Acorn.finance is all about getting the right funding for your needs.
Since we formed Acorn Commercial Finance back in 1997 we’ve dedicated our time to working with an extensive panel of almost every lender and finance provider in the UK market.
We do that because we want to ensure our customers get the finance they need to move forward with their business or property.
Acorn Commercial Finance
Back in 1997 father and son team Tom and Paul Thompson realised the UK was missing a link between business owners and the broader finance market.
Back then the commercial finance market was dominated by the big banks; NatWest, Barclays, HSBC, Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland).
For business owners, this wasn’t great as bank managers would only suggest what they, not another bank could offer. That meant business owners were not getting the “best advice”, just some advice. That would have been fine if all banks operated the same, but they didn’t then and they still don’t.
In the ’90s many of us had loyalty to our banks, we were with the banks we’d been brought up with. Then we set up businesses or started investing in property, if that wasn’t “the bank’s” target sector, then too bad.
We were working with lots of business owners and soon realised that it was business owners getting the short straw here. The banks were offering poor deals, taking extra security they didn’t need or just turning good businesses down.
So – Acorn.finance (or Acorn Commercial Finance in those days) was born.
We worked with the businesses getting the worst deal from their banks; Businesses like pubs, hotels, post offices, bakeries, fish and chip shops, care homes and mechanics. We didn’t work with them because it was easy, we looked for the business sectors getting the toughest breaks. In that way we built a strong reputation amongst business owners.
An award winning finance broker.
In 2013 we entered our first awards – the Business Moneyfacts Awards. That year we walked away with the Commercial Mortgage Broker of the Year Award. (See below, me meeting Matt Dawson MBE – England Rugby Player!). Since then we’ve won a further 6 best UK broker awards from a variety of publications.
Tom retired back in 2016 leaving Paul at the helm. We’re now growing the business again through franchises across the length and breadth of the UK.
To find out more about the Acorn.finance franchise, then contact us now, we’re looking for a limited number of committed individuals to get started before the end of 2022.
Paul Thompson – Acorn.finance founder
Paul came into the finance world from an unusual direction – having served as a Sea King Helicopter pilot in the Royal Navy.
Not being the typical ex-banker turned finance broker has been a strength for Paul, the analytical thinking required as a pilot is vital when dealing with funding transactions.
Paul spent 5 years on the board of directors for the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, helping to steer the industry in a positive direction and being responsible for Training and Education for the association.
Now the kids have left home Paul lives in the Lake District with his wife Kate. We enjoy getting out into the hills and are looking forward to taking to the water once it’s a it warmer!
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