• Three new experienced team members have joined GM Business Growth Hub’s Access to Finance Team  
• Heather Waters, previously at NatWest, joins Access to Finance as Network Manager, a newly created role 
• Expands the team working to support Greater Manchester businesses to access finance  

GM Business Growth Hub have added three new team members to their Access to Finance Team. Heather Waters, Daniel Ponting and Adam Clayton, join the team following the appointment of Ian Dixon as head of the service.  

Investment in UK businesses fell by 7% in 2022, despite areas like tech and life sciences scaling in that time. The increased support in the Access to Finance team hopes to expand on the work already done, helping businesses looking to raise funds, finding the right finance options.  

The three new hires bring the team to eight members, all dedicated to helping Greater Manchester businesses both to raise funds and become investment ready. The A2F team have already over 815 funding offers, amounting to £155,000,000 in funding for business. 

Heather Waters has been appointed as the new Access to Finance Network Manager, which is a new role within the A2F team. She will work with the team to expand our connectivity across the GM business support landscape whilst Daniel Ponting and Adam Clayton have joined as Access to Finance Specialists to increase the team's delivery capacity and capabilities. 

Heather has over 25 years B2B experience, having spent time at NatWest supporting businesses across the region and nationally.  

“I have spent my career building relationships with internal and external stakeholders, collaborating with public, private and third sector organisations. My work involved supporting, guiding championing potential, and celebrating success has been the key driver and passion, whether this is with entrepreneurs, colleagues or community projects. In this new role I will work with the team to continue supporting and working with businesses in Manchester.” 

As Business Advisers, both Daniel and Adam will support businesses across the Greater Manchester area. They have already started helping businesses of all sizes to become investment ready, access investment, funding, and grants.  

“I am excited to welcome Adam, Daniel and Heather to the A2F Service. Individually and collectively, they bring a wealth of additional experience, skills and knowledge to the team. Strengthening the team allows us to not only enhance our presence across the expanding GM finance and investment landscape but also to develop our service offering to business owners.” Ian Dixon, Head of Access to Finance 

The A2F team have collectively supported hundreds of businesses across the city region to access the finance and support they need to grow. With these new team members, the future will see even more businesses supported. 

More information about what support GM Business Growth Hub offers in the funding and finance for Greater Manchester businesses can be found here.