South Coast: Barclays appoints area business banking manager

Barclays has announced the appointment of Peter Thomas to the role of area business banking manager, strengthening its South Hampshire and Solent business banking proposition.

Thomas will lead a team of relationship managers across the area including Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight, responsible for supporting Barclays business customers operating with a turnover between £400,000 to £6 million, as part of Barclays continued commitment to support small and medium-sized enterprises across the region.

Thomas brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously worked in International Corporate Banking, Large and Mid-Corporate and Business Banking. He also has first- hand experience of starting and growing his own business, before more recently returning to Barclays as a relationship director, where his leadership and corporate banking experience will bring added value to Barclays SME customers and their businesses.

Commenting on his new role, Thomas said: “Barclays has a strong track record of supporting SMEs in South Hampshire and Solent and is uniquely placed with its relationship model to help local businesses during this continued period of uncertainty.  I’m passionate about helping business owners to plan for the future and invest for growth, alongside supporting them to expand into new markets and realise their full potential.

“This is a very exciting time for me to be taking up my new role and I look forward to working with my team and meeting customers, to understand how Barclays can help them navigate and capitalise on this period of change.”

Caroline Burley, head of Barclays business banking, South Coast, said: “Peter’s new appointment will bring an added dimension to our Business Banking team and greatly enhance our customer proposition in a key area of the region.  This comes on the back of our other initiatives to help SMEs to succeed and flourish including our dedicated £14bn SME lending fund, our Brexit clinics and seminars, and our established network of on-the-ground relationship management experts and industry specialists based across South Hampshire and Solent. I look forward to working with Peter in his new role.”