Shawbrook has announced a pause in new applications for its asset finance facilities, effective from 31 January 2025, to focus on product expansion.
This decision is expected to impact its hire purchase, finance lease, and sale and leaseback products. The duration of this pause remains unclear.
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In a statement, a Shawbrook representative said: “Shawbrook is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of our SME customers. As part of this, we have made the strategic decision to pause new applications for asset finance.
“This allows us to focus on the development and delivery of new finance products and services, including the increasingly popular capital expenditure loans, which offer businesses greater flexibility to invest in growth and innovation.”
The pause only impacts Shawbrook’s asset finance proposition within its commercial banking franchise and does not affect JBR Capital, which the lender acquired in September 2024.
JBR Capital, a luxury auto financing provider, remains part of the broader Shawbrook Group.
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By GlobalDataThe representative added: “We are also focused on our commitment to support established businesses to unlock the value in the existing assets to fuel their growth through our asset-based lending proposition. This shift reflects our mission to provide finance to UK businesses who value the premium experience, flexibility, and certainty we provide.”
This development comes as Shawbrook explores an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.
Finance press reports indicate that private equity companies and Shawbrook’s owners, BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital, are in advanced discussions to appoint Goldman Sachs to oversee the potential IPO.
This move follows previous efforts to go public, which were shelved due to volatile market conditions.
In 2022, Shawbrook’s owners engaged Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to evaluate a sale or IPO. However, those plans were postponed.
The current push for an IPO is reportedly driven by a desire to capitalise on improving market stability, although an outright sale remains a possible alternative.
