FRP Corporate Finance has added to its debt advisory expertise with the appointment of a partner in its Manchester office.
With more than 35 years of dealmaking and asset-based lending experience, Stuart Bates has held senior roles across a multitude of lenders. He was one of the executive directors of Centric Commercial Finance from 2008 to 2016, successfully selling the business to Shawbrook. He then co-founded Praetura Commercial Finance in 2016, leading the origination team to deploy more than £500m.
In his new role, Bates will work with colleagues across FRP’s national office network to support clients with funding for growth, acquisitions, carve-outs and refinances.
Stuart Bates, partner at FRP Corporate Finance, said: “Having spent my career managing lending conversations, I’ve seen the value that expert advice adds when it comes to bridging differing perspectives – sometimes turning an initial ‘no’ into a ‘yes’.
“It remains an environment where lenders continue to be highly selective in their decisions, and it’s therefore particularly important that firms have this type of expert advice to hand. FRP has a strong reputation for practical solutions to what can often be complex challenges, and its national reach makes this a particularly exciting opportunity.”
Martyn Rickels, restructuring partner at FRP, added: “Stuart’s understanding of how funders assess risk and opportunity will be invaluable to our clients. His arrival underlines our commitment to helping our clients build real resilience and create lasting value through integrated advisory. A big welcome to the team.”
Simon Sherliker, debt advisory partner at FRP Corporate Finance, said: “We are delighted to be further strengthening ABL debt advisory capabilities at FRP, enhancing our ability to support private equity and corporate clients with the full product suite of funding solutions across the UK.
“Stuart’s appointment underlines our continuing commitment to deliver the highest quality advisory support to mid-market borrowers.”