Bibby Financial Services hire new MD for expansion

By Tom Kilkelly

12 January 2023

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Bibby Financial Services ( BFS) has appointed Paul Ratcliffe as Managing Director for its Marine Finance Business, which is set to launch this year.

He has 40 years of experience in the maritime and asset finance sectors and will oversee the expansion of BFS’s financial support for SMEs through the Marine Finance Business.

Paul’s career began with BFS’s parent company, Bibby Line Group, when he joined his first ship, MV Dorsetshire, in 1980. After accumulating 4 years of sea-time with Bibby, Paul joined Bank of Scotland in 1987. He went on to set up the bank’s Asset Finance Maritime Business in 2002. In 2013 he joined Shawbrook Bank and set up their Marine Finance Business.

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Managing Director of BFS UK Derek Ryan said: “We’re delighted to welcome Paul back to Bibby to drive forward our Marine Finance business. Paul’s deep-rooted and extensive knowledge of the marine sector gained over four decades is unrivalled, and we look forward to launching and growing the business with him at the helm.”

Paul Ratcliffe commented: “Having spent the first part of my career at Bibby after joining over 40 years ago, this feels like coming home. With global shipping costs high and the move towards decarbonation, businesses in the sector have a series of challenges to overcome. Combining BFS’s financing specialism along with the Group’s shipping heritage will enable us to support those operating within the sector and help them to access the funding they need to grow and thrive.”

BFS have also hired Richard Hargreaves, former Head of Risk at Siemens Financial Services, as Head of Portfolio Risk. Shipping sector solicitor advocate Howard Quinliven has also been hired as Senior In-house Legal Counsel.

Derek Ryan added: “A key part of our 4.0 strategy is expanding our product range so we can support a greater number of businesses. BFS Marine Finance does just this, and complements our existing support across invoice finance, asset finance and FX.

“Paul’s return 40 years after he first joined the Group reflects our ethos of embracing our past to shape our future. Along with the appointments of Howard and Richard, we are now recruiting for other roles within BFS Marine Finance and look forward to successfully launching the business over the coming months.”

Bibby Financial Services is an independent financial services partner to 8,500 businesses worldwide. They provide specialist and adaptable trade, asset and working capital finance, FX and insurance services for businesses in domestic and international markets.

Paul will join BFS on the 1st of February 2023.

By Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022.

During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan).

His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.