FRP Corporate Finance appoints Stuart Bates as partner in Manchester office
FRP Corporate Finance has deepened its debt advisory expertise with the appointment of Stuart Bates as a partner in its Manchester office.
Stuart Bates brings over 35 years of dealmaking and asset-based lending experience to the firm, gained mainly in professional services and with lenders. He was one of the Executive Directors of Centric Commercial Finance from 2008 to 2016, successfully selling the business to Shawbrook. He then co-founded Praetura Commercial Finance in 2016, leading the origination team to deploy over £500 million.
In his new role, Bates will work with colleagues across FRP’s network to support clients with funding for growth, acquisitions, carve-outs and refinances, drawing on his experience in delivering complex funding arrangements and a deep technical knowledge of asset-based lending structures.
“Having spent my career managing lending conversations, I’ve seen the value that expert advice adds when it comes to bridging differing perspectives – sometimes turning an initial ‘no’ into a ‘yes’. “It remains an environment where lenders continue to be highly selective in their decisions, and it’s therefore particularly important that firms have this type of expert advice to hand,” said Bates.
“FRP has a strong reputation for practical solutions to what can often be complex challenges, and its national reach makes this a particularly exciting opportunity.”
Commenting on the appointment, Martyn Rickels, partner in the Restructuring practice of FRP, said: “Stuart’s understanding of how funders assess risk and opportunity will be invaluable to our clients. His arrival underlines our commitment to helping our clients build real resilience and create lasting value through integrated advisory. A big welcome to the team.”
Simon Sherliker, partner in the Debt Advisory practice of FRP Corporate Finance, added: “We are delighted to be strengthening our debt advisory capabilities, enhancing our ability to support private equity and corporate clients with the full product suite of funding solutions across the UK. Stuart’s appointment underlines our continuing commitment to deliver the highest quality advisory support to mid-market borrowers.”
FRP Corporate Finance is a subsidiary of FRP Advisory, which has more than 850 employees, making it one of the largest independent business advisory firms specialising in restructuring, corporate finance, forensic services, financial advisory and debt advisory.
