With three decades in business, Sarah Hardiman reflects on the company’s past, its customers and its future.
“Stoke Park is first and foremost, a family business. It was established by my father Ronnie, and as his daughter, I could not be more proud of how he started Stoke Park from a blank sheet of paper, and went on to make it one of the few truly specialist bus and coach financiers in the UK, before retiring a number of years ago.
It is therefore with immense pride that we are approaching our 30th anniversary, thankful for long-standing loyal customers, appreciative of the friendships we have developed, and resolved to stop finance from becoming the faceless process it is for so many.
Ours is very much a people business; there are no internet forms to complete, no ‘one size fits all’ calculator, and no customer identification numbers. Every business deserves the very best attention to create finance structures that are helpful and relevant to each business.
Our team is made up of dedicated finance professionals, having been in finance our full working careers. The depth of knowledge obtained through these years of experience means we can assist with the big as well as the small. We have handled some of the largest buyouts that have happened in the coach industry over the last 30 years, funded significant fleet replacement programmes and set up rolling purchase plans.
We are equally proud to have funded many operators’ first-ever vehicle and, 30 years on, to still be dealing with them and watching them flourish.
Changing times have meant that we too have had to adapt. Our panel of funders is larger than ever, and our product offering is wider, to now include commercial mortgages, invoice finance and commercial loans, as well as asset finance. We also finance a variety of asset types to include garage equipment, directors cars, commercial vehicles, classic and specialist cars and printing equipment. The rule is that if it has a serial number, we will fund it!”
Stoke Park Finance can be reached on 0141 639 1410.