White Oak loan book passes £250 million

11 November 2020

The milestone has been reached for the first time in the independent lender’s history.

White Oak has marked the milestone with a donation to its charity partner, School of Hard Knocks which delivers life changing programmes to children and adults using rugby, boxing and one-to-one and group mentoring sessions.

Independent business lender White Oak has today announced it has hit a loan book of £250,000,000 for the first time in the lender’s history. This marks a significant milestone for the Loans & Leases business with the lender distributing over £120 million of loans to SMEs since its accreditation to the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) in May.

White Oak has marked the occasion with a £5,000 donation to School of Hard Knocks, the lender’s chosen charity partner which delivers life changing programmes to children and adults using high impact sport and mentoring. White Oak’s donation will go towards SOHK’s schools programme in Scotland and will enable to charity to reach ten more children who need support and each child will receive group and one-to-one mentoring alongside tailored rugby sessions for an entire year.

White Oak has an office in Glasgow and has also distributed over £5.5 million in CBILS loans to Scottish firms over the course of the coronavirus pandemic. With other offices in London Southampton, Manchester and Ewloe in Wales, White Oak benefits from national coverage, and its 100+ origination force has approved loans for SMEs and mid-sized corporates around the country with 79% lent to SMEs outside of London.

White Oak provides business loans, equipment finance and asset-based lending solutions to SMEs and mid-corporate clients across the UK. Since the company was accredited as a CBILS lender it has quickly mobilised to support 580 businesses with loans paid out from £75,000 to £750,000, with the ability to lend up to £5m.

White Oak is set to continue providing valuable support to SMEs and mid-sized corporates through the crisis, with ambitions to lend the full £180m before the scheme closes for new applicants on 31st January 2021.

Andy Davies, Managing Director of Leases & Loans at White Oak UK, said:

We are also pleased to have passed this milestone and this reflects the dedication the team has shown our clients. We are always looking to support businesses that can drive our economy back to growth and are very happy that as a CBILS-accredited lender we have been able to do that.

We are so proud to also be able to give something back and support the fantastic work of the School of Hard Knocks and we are looking forward to continuing this partnership.

Rosa Innes, Director of Programmes for Scotland at SOHK, said:

SOHK’s values of teamwork, commitment, and integrity reflect those of White Oak’s and their work. On top of White Oak’s pledge to allocate funds to SOHK for every deal they broker, the company has done some brilliant in-house fundraising that has enabled SOHK to reach more individuals who need support – now more than ever. We are thrilled to have had the support of White Oak over this past year. These types of partnerships are integral to School of Hard Knocks’ work. We always strive to work with organisations and businesses that share our vision and goals so that we can work together to bring about lasting change.”

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