Pair of senior promotions at Approved Finance Group

Milton Keynes-based asset finance brokerage, Approved Business Finance, has announced two senior promotions, naming Mark Kozo as its new Commercial Director and Emily Skellham as Head of Credit.

The business has gone from strength to strength in the last year with the launch of two new divisions – Approved Tax and Approved Property Finance, facilitating over £105 million worth of finance in 2022 with forecasts exceeding this for the next financial year.

With the current financial climate, these promotions aim to collaborate with multiple divisions to boost client opportunities across various sectors.

Mark Kozo, formerly Marketing Director, is eager to collaborate with the leadership team in his new role to enhance the organisation’s business growth. He said: “Taking on this role is an exciting chance to apply my number of years of experience within marketing at an even more commercial level.

“Our team continues to grow and we are fortunate to have a diverse skill set within teams that when we collaborate a wide variety of opportunities can emerge. Combining sales and marketing provides the chance for us to place ourselves strategically to continue building on the success we have achieved in the last 12 months.

“The group truly offers a full cohort of services that cover everything a business owner’s funding needs and I’m excited to share this with our existing clients and wider audience.”

Previously holding the position of Sales Manager, Emily Skellham will lead the Credit Department with the goal of building an effective credit team to continue to build on the success of its clients.

Speaking about the new role, Emily said: “Within this role, I’m keen to identify opportunities for the wider group as well as our traditional business finance products. My plan over the next few months is to deploy a successful credit team and ensure our clients know who to come to for all their business finance requirements.

“It has been a challenging financial year with the base interest rate reaching 5.25%. With this in mind, we want to offer our clients competitive rates and ensure they are receiving the best deal for their businesses despite the current circumstances.”

Rory Dunn, Managing Director of the Approved Group, added: “The last year has been one of significant development across the Approved Finance Group with the launch of two new business units and multiple new product and service lines.

“Mark and Emily have been instrumental in the successful integration of these new business units whilst also managing their day-to-day roles within Approved Business Finance and a ground-up CRM build!

“Both Mark and Emily’s hard work, dedication, and desire to achieve the best outcomes for the business, our clients, and our lenders is second to none and I am delighted that we have been able to recognise their achievements with these promotions.”