Financial Sponsors

Andrew Clayton is National Head of Financial Sponsors at Santander, where he's responsible for leading a team across the UK working with management teams and private equity investors, providing leveraged debt financing solutions in the mid-market space. He has over 20 years of experience in working with and supporting mid-market businesses. Before joining Santander he was Regional Head of Structured Finance for the South and Midlands at RBS where he led many transactions covering a wider range of sectors. Andrew's also worked in Mezzanine Finance with NatWest and Corporate Finance as part of an independent London based boutique.

Gerry is a Director within the Financial Sponsors team having joined Santander in 2014. Prior to this, he spent six years at BDO working in the Transaction Services team in London. He holds a first class degree in Accounting and Finance from Newcastle University and qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant whilst at BDO.

Neil is a Director within the Financial Sponsors team having joined Santander in 2015. He has over 10 years leveraged experience, working prior to Santander at GE Capital and Lloyds Banking Group. He holds a degree in Accounting and Finance from Leeds University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant from his time at KPMG.

Adrian is a Director within the Financial Sponsors team having joined Santander in 2010. Before this, he spent seven years at RBS in the Corporate & Structured Finance team working on a range of financial sponsor and corporate M&A transactions in Leeds and Birmingham. He holds degrees in Accounting & Economics from De Montfort University and Financial Services (ACIB) from the University of Manchester.

Saul is a Director within the Financial Sponsors team having joined Santander in early 2017. Prior to this, he spent nine years at RBS, predominantly in the Mid-market Leverage Finance team, delivering a number of Sponsor backed transactions. He holds a degree in Economics, Banking and Finance from Cardiff University.

Richard is a Director within the Structured Finance team who joined Santander in 2014. He qualified as a CA with Deloitte in 2005, and has 12 years’ subsequent corporate finance, recovery and business advisory experience across roles within EY, Bank of Scotland and overseas. Richard is focused on mid-market financial sponsor and corporate M&A transactions, as well as the provision of growth capital funding for fast growing SMEs in Scotland and Northern Ireland. He holds a Masters Degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh.

Rhys joined Santander in 2017 having spent two years at RBS Leveraged Finance with an additional four years Corporate Finance experience across M&A and Debt Advisory Roles at KPMG and a leading mid-market boutique. He holds a degree in Accounting and Financial Management from Loughborough University Business School and qualified as a Chartered Accountant whilst at KPMG.

Scott is an Associate Director within the Financial Sponsors team. He initially joined Santander in 2014 and spent three years in the Growth Capital team – providing structured debt solutions to high-growth SMEs. Scott holds a degree in International Business and Economics from University of Strathclyde Business School.