Dawsongroup Finance, part of Dawsongroup PLC, has increased its headcount by 50% during the coronavirus lockdown, with its services more in demand than ever during the current economic downturn.
The in-house asset finance company, which provides financial support for companies looking to invest in assets for their business, has hired four new members of staff during the coronavirus lockdown, bucking the trend of many companies across the UK who have opted to furlough staff or make redundancies. These hires include three Business Development Managers and a new Head of Sales, which almost completes Dawsongroup Finance’s planned full sales team.
Part of the reason why Dawsongroup Finance, based in Ringwood, Hampshire, has been able to facilitate these new appointments during an uncertain economic period is thanks to the nature of the asset finance industry, according to Commercial Director, Kevin Wills: “During difficult economic times, cash is king, and asset finance is built around this understanding; we facilitate businesses to invest in assets while preserving cash flow. The financial support we offer has been much appreciated by Dawsongroup customers and suppliers during lockdown enabling this investment in our growing sales team.”
The person responsible for managing this new sales team and continuing this growth in business is Anton Scott, Head of Sales, who joined the company on April 14. Anton said: “This is a business with so much potential within a very successful and unique PLC. In my short time in the role so far, I have received nothing but positivity even in this very challenged time we face now. We are in a terrific position to assist all our customers’ with their finance needs and really make a positive difference. We now have full geographic coverage and further integration with our sister companies.”
As part of the wider Dawsongroup PLC, which employs over 1,000 people across eight different business units, Dawsongroup Finance has been working with their Group colleagues to aid the supply of a wide range of assets. These include vans, trucks, trailers, ambulances, forklifts, sweepers and temporary storage units. The new Business Development Managers work in tandem with their Dawsongroup Sales colleagues and are dedicated to respective geographical areas.
Andrew Kenny joined Dawsongroup Finance on May 1 as a Business Development Manager, working with Dawsongroup Truck and Trailer, another unit of Dawsongroup PLC. Based in Sheffield, Andrew is well located to efficiently represent Dawsongroup Finance in the North of England and Scotland.
Chelmsford based David Glasson will be supporting the southern region of Dawsongroup Truck and Trailer, offering finance solutions to customers and supporting the rental services that Dawsongroup are known for.
The latest Business Development Manager to join the sales team on May 4 is Gulshan Khan. Gulshan comes to Dawsongroup with a very broad understanding of Asset Finance. Having worked directly for funders, Gulshan is ideally placed to assist the customers of Dawsongroup Material Handling, Dawsongroup Sweepers and Dawsongroup Temperature Control Solutions.
All four of these hires occurred during lockdown whilst Dawsongroup Finance, like many other businesses, has been operating remotely. The company also held its inaugural sales video conference recently, in which Anton Scott presented Dawsongroup Finance’s new Three-Year Growth Strategy to the team.
Increasing staff numbers and implementing long-term sales strategies remotely has been a strange experience for Kevin Wills, who has managed Dawsongroup Finance for three years. Kevin said: “Having new starters join during lockdown has been challenging to say the least. We were unable to conduct the usual welcomes, introductions and inductions, but the team has shown great patience and enthusiasm for our business, which is rapidly growing. We were determined that the Covid-19 crisis would not prevent them from joining, despite the limitations caused by lockdown.
“All four roles are crucially important to our strategy for growing Dawsongroup Finance, and Anton, David, Gulshan and Andrew fit perfectly in terms of their skills, experience and individual commitment to providing our customers and Group colleagues with an industry leading service.”
