Hitachi Capital Business Finance Appoints New Managing Director

Geoff Maleham has been appointed as Managing Director of Hitachi Capital Business Finance (subject to FCA approval). Geoff has jointly led the business since the sad passing of Gavin Wraith-Carter in September 2020.

Hitachi Capital Business Finance, a division of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, provides business asset finance to SMEs and bigger corporations across the UK to help them meet their goals and grow.

As the new Managing Director of Hitachi Capital Business Finance, Geoff draws on more than 20 years of asset finance experience, having previously worked for Abbey and ING Lease in credit risk roles. Geoff joined Hitachi Capital Business Finance in 2013, where he has held a number of risk positions, transitioning from Head of Flow Underwriting and Head of Credit into the wider role of Head of Risk for the division.

Geoff comments: “We have a remarkable team of people at Hitachi Capital Business Finance and I’m confident that working together we can continue to provide an exceptional service to our introducers and customers. My key focus in the coming months is to ensure that the great work that we’ve done to support UK SME’s with appropriate funding during the COVID pandemic is continued and that the excellent service we provide to our broker and vendor markets is maintained. Looking to the future, I’m keen to develop our sustainability programme, supporting the UN development goals whilst aligning activities to our customers’ needs.”

Robert Gordon, CEO of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, said: "I have been impressed with the performance and growth of our Business Finance business unit over the last year. Geoff and the team have built upon the legacy left by Gavin Wraith-Carter. The appointment of Geoff as Managing Director is a result of the leadership qualities he has demonstrated and the success that has been achieved. I am delighted to appoint an internal candidate to the role, demonstrating the strength and depth of the management team at Hitachi Capital."

With an asset portfolio of more than £1.3bn, Hitachi Capital Business Finance is active across multiple sectors such as transport, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, materials handling and financial services providers.

Business finance products including hire purchase, finance lease solutions, stocking and block discounting are provided through brokers, vendor organisations, manufacturers and direct to the business community.