Praetura Commercial Finance

Praetura Commercial Finance

Praetura Commercial Finance launched in 2017 with a team drawn from Shawbrook Business Credit, Centric Commercial Finance, and GE Commercial Finance. Founder and managing director Lisa Wood, who previously served as deputy managing director and chief credit officer at Shawbrook, established the firm in Wilmslow, Cheshire. The firm operates as an independent commercial finance provider structured around asset-based lending for UK small and medium enterprises. The firm deploys capital through a defined product suite: confidential invoice discounting, stock revolvers, plant and machinery term loans, property term loans, and cash flow term loans. Facility sizes are underwritten up to £25 million, spanning refinancing, growth, and M&A transactions. Named portfolio activity includes a management buy-out for Brands In at £1.9 million, a working capital facility for Wattbike alongside Piper, and a rescue facility securing a Northamptonshire manufacturer at £1.4 million. The firm also structured a transaction backing Evtec Aluminium, which chair David Roberts described as critical to facilitating the electric vehicle supply chain. Geographic coverage concentrates on the UK, with dedicated sales directors for the North West, Yorkshire & North East, Midlands, and South East. Team depth includes sales directors Matt Greenhalgh, Jeff Greenfield, Dan Topham, and Nick Salmons, covering regional corridors that map to the UK's SME manufacturing and distribution clusters. In May 2024, the firm secured a £150 million lending facility from NatWest to expand its balance sheet and support additional UK SME transactions. The team operates from a single headquarters in Wilmslow, with no disclosed adjacent philanthropic or operational vehicles. Praetura Commercial Finance is structured as a non-bank lender with a senior team that exited specialty finance units of high street and challenger banks. The firm's credit approval and deal execution sits directly with founder-led leadership — a contrast with institutionally owned ABL platforms where credit committees sit outside the regional origination team.