BDO appoints corporate finance specialist to head up asset based loan advisory service

By Nicky Godding

27 April 2021

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Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP has appointed senior corporate finance specialist, Drew Johnson, to head up a new Asset Based Lending (ABL) Advisory service.

Drew joins as Director from PNC Business Credit – a large US financial institution, where he worked as a Business Development Director. He has 20 years of corporate finance and banking experience.

Based in the Midlands, Drew will take on a national role sitting across corporate finance, debt advisory and business restructuring. He will be responsible for advising UK mid-market corporates on accessing ABL debt and refinancing solutions to help facilitate M&As, MBOs, MBIs, recapitalisation, restructuring and growth.

Richard Rose, partner and head of BDO in the Midlands, said: “Drew brings an incredible amount of ABL expertise to the firm and will play an important role in helping to shape our new ABL Advisory service into a successful advisory offering."

Ross McDonald, Corporate Finance Partner, Head of Debt Advisory, added: “Drew is an excellent addition to our team and someone who will add real value to our debt advisory offering. The timing of the ABL Advisory launch is significant for both regional and national businesses, as they look to assess their strategic options and restructure and refinance in a post-COVID world.”

The ABL Advisory service will be focused on mid-market corporates to support ABL debt structuring and refinancing and to access asset-backed funding.

Drew, who out of the office is an FA qualified coach and an avid Aston Villa fan, added: “After leaving PNC last summer, I was keen to return to the market and tackle a new and exciting challenge.

“In the current economic climate, there has been a big shift away from traditional forms of debt. Utilising my experience in finance and ABL, I believe I can add real value to a large advisory practice, such as BDO, as we help clients manage this period of change. In a normal economy, ABL wins its share of the market but, in times of change, ABL has shown its ability to support businesses when others have retrenched.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.