As an institutional partner to CODE Investing, the specialist bank will gain direct lending access to qualified SMEs that require hire purchase and leasing finance to assist them with acquiring a range of business-critical assets.

PCF Group – which owns PCF Bank – has been supporting UK SMEs for almost 25 years by providing finance to help businesses acquire a range of vehicles and equipment, including commercial vehicles, coaches, construction and manufacturing equipment.

PCF currently has a portfolio of over £200m of finance receivables spread across over 14,350 customers.

Ayan Mitra, CEO and founder of CODE Investing, said that PCF was precisely the type of progressive and flexible lender that it wanted on its rapidly growing panel.

“In many sectors, being able to secure competitive vehicle and asset loans is critical to growth.

“This kind of finance is literally the oil of the broader UK economy, helping to keep it moving, manufacturing and building.

“Our role will be to act as a filter for PCF, presenting them only with pre-qualified companies that meet their criteria.

“As they increase their market share, this will ensure their growing portfolio is fully optimised and de-risked."

Robert Murray, managing director at PCF Bank, added: “Banks and other financial services providers are increasingly turning to alternative finance platforms to assist them in sourcing customers and then delivering their products seamlessly.

“We have been greatly impressed with CODE Investing’s use of new technology to source and pre-qualify customers and are delighted to be working in partnership with them.

“We see partnerships like this one as key to the development of our business as we look to grow our portfolio from its current levels to £350m by September 2020 and £750m by September 2022."