Background & Approach

I work with founders and senior finance leaders to design, run and complete funding processes that stand up to real credit scrutiny. My role is to take ownership of the financing workstream — from deciding the right structure, through to securing credit-approved terms and managing the transaction to completion.

I have spent 20 years in banking and lending, with the last decade focused on the most technically demanding parts of the debt market. Earlier in my career I worked in secured lending, where outcomes are often driven by asset cover and loan-to-value ratios. That experience was formative, but it was my move into structured finance that fundamentally changed how I think about risk.

In structured finance, tangible security is often limited or absent. Decisions rely instead on the quality of analysis: the robustness of the business model, the strength of the management team, the regulatory and economic environment, sponsor dynamics, customer concentration, supplier risk and transaction execution risk. Lending in that environment forces a far deeper understanding of how businesses really work.

I later applied that discipline in the venture debt market, where even stable cashflow may not exist. In that context, credit judgement depends on understanding long-term growth drivers, market sentiment, ARR quality, net revenue retention, and the credibility of secondary or tertiary exit routes — whether through refinancing, sponsor support or enterprise value.

One of the biggest advantages I bring to clients is visibility into how lenders actually operate. Most management teams never see behind the scenes. They assume relationship managers are technical experts and that credit decisions are purely analytical. In reality, front-line bankers are often sales-led rather than credit-led, and many institutions now insert additional layers between relationship management and credit precisely because of that skills gap.

This creates a disconnect: enthusiasm at the front end, followed by rejection deep in the credit process. Deals fail not because they are bad transactions, but because they are poorly communicated, badly packaged or mishandled politically. Credit officers are risk-averse by nature and hold all the power. How a transaction is framed, challenged and presented matters as much as the numbers themselves.

My approach is to remove friction from that process. Transactions are packaged in lender-ready form, with risks addressed openly and mitigations clearly articulated. That allows relationship teams to pass work straight through, gives credit confidence that the homework has been done, and materially improves outcomes where a deal has merit.

Clients typically come to me after being declined by their existing bank, often with no clear understanding of why. Loyalty, transactional banking history and operational competence count for very little in lending decisions. Frequently the issue is simply product fit, sector appetite or internal strategy — not business quality. With the right lender and the right positioning, many “impossible” transactions are entirely routine.

Throughout an engagement, I prioritise transparency and momentum. I prefer a quick no to a slow no, and I am direct about risks, process difficulty and likely outcomes from the outset. Funding processes are demanding, negotiations are rarely comfortable, and success depends on preparation, resilience and execution discipline. My objective is not to oversell, but to get the right deal done — on terms that are understood, defensible and sustainable.

Credentials & Experience

Transaction experience

I have led and completed transactions across venture debt, structured finance, private-equity-backed acquisitions and leveraged growth funding.

In the venture debt market, I completed the largest transaction ever executed by the Virgin Money Venture Debt team in its 13-year history. More broadly, I have closed venture and growth financings across sectors including technology, healthcare and aviation, often in situations where traditional cashflow or asset backing was limited.

Within structured finance and private equity-backed environments, I have worked on a wide range of MBOs, acquisitions and leveraged transactions. Examples include funding for a university campus expansion, a housing association building hundreds of homes, and a fishing business acquiring vessels — alongside numerous PE-backed and corporate transactions.

My work typically sits in the £1m–£10m range for venture and growth deals, and up to £25m+ in structured and leveraged finance. I focus on transactions where complexity, risk or time pressure require senior judgement rather than formulaic execution.

Working at the edge of lender appetite

Many of the most challenging transactions I have completed have sat at the fringes of lender appetite. These are deals where there is a viable route to completion, but only if risks are identified early, addressed in depth and mitigated credibly.

That work involves rigorous sensitivity analysis, thoughtful structuring, covenant design, risk pricing and — critically — professional presentation. Where information quality or reporting is weak, I work with management teams to raise it to lender standard. Where sponsors are inflexible or cashflow is constrained, solutions may involve balance-sheet cash, phased funding, cost mitigation or revised economics.

Borderline transactions fail when they are rushed or poorly framed. They succeed when credit can see the work has been done properly and in good faith.

Credit-side credibility

I have worked directly with UK clearing banks, challenger banks, debt funds and specialist lenders, and across adjacent products including asset finance, invoice discounting, bridging finance, mezzanine and unitranche structures.

I have written, reviewed and rewritten credit papers, presented directly to credit committees — including in-person at Managing Director level — and built long-standing credibility with multiple credit teams. My objective has always been simple: when a paper lands on credit’s desk with my name on it, they know it has been fully thought through before they read it.

While at Virgin Money, I maintained a 100% success rate at final credit approval for transactions that passed first-stage credit, across a two-stage credit process. That track record allows me to give clients confidence early, significantly reducing the risk of spending months on a transaction that ultimately does not complete.

Skills and approach

My core strengths are credit analysis, financial modelling, risk mitigation and negotiation. I work closely with legal advisers on documentation, focusing on the commercial implications of terms while ensuring legal robustness sits with the lawyers.

Where I differ from many advisers is in combining technical depth with a human approach. I am able to translate a management team’s commercial reality into lender language — and just as importantly, manage the personal dynamics of credit decision-makers. Trust, judgement and communication still matter in lending, even in highly technical transactions.

Professional background and qualifications

I have spent over 20 years in banking, including senior and Director-level roles within structured finance teams at Virgin Money, RBS, NatWest and Barclays. In several roles I led regional structured finance activity across the M4 corridor and the South of England.

My formal qualifications include:

• Diploma in Accounting & Business (ACCA)

• Professional Diploma in Banking & Finance (LIBF)

• Certificate in Corporate Finance (CISI)

• Diploma in Lending Skills (Chartered Banker)

• Diploma and Certificate in Credit

EXPERIENCE

NatWest / Royal Bank of Scotland

Barclays

Virgin Money

Organisations

Qualifications

Diploma in Accounting & Business (ACCA)

Professional Diploma in Banking & Finance (LIBF)

Certificate in Corporate Finance (CISI)

Intermediate Certificate in Financial & Management Accounting (ACCA)

Level 5 Professionalism, Conduct and Ethics (LIBF)

Diploma in Lending Skills (Chartered Banker)

Diploma in Credit and Certificate in Credit

Disciplines

Structured/Strategic Finance

Venture Debt

Leveraged Transaction

Unsecured/Debenture-Led

Asset Backed

TESTIMONIALS

Mr Testimonial

Working with Leon was tip top.

Mrs Testimonial

Best transaction ever.

QUESTIONS?

Most of my clients start with an off-the-record chat. Feel free to get in touch.