Mark Craigen has been appointed as chief financial officer (CFO) at Portman Finance Group.

As part of his role, he will lead the firm’s finance function, including lender relationships, external advisory engagement and the continued expansion of its own-book lending capability.

Craigen, who is a chartered accountant, began his career at Deloitte and has experience across asset finance, manufacturing, technology and financial services.

He has also held senior leadership roles across transformation programmes, system implementation, M&A and the strengthening of financial controls within regulated environments.

Craigen’s appointment comes as Ryan Magee and Simon Williams have been appointed as chief legal officer and chief compliance officer, respectively.

Portman Finance Group was founded in 2007 and over the past four years, its monthly revenues have grown from £400,000 to £4m, recording its strongest month to date in February 2026.

Chief executive officer and founder at Portman Finance Group, Alex Read, described the appointments as a "hugely exciting moment" for the firm.

He added: "We’ve grown quickly, but we’ve done it with purpose, integrity and professionalism, to ensure UK SMEs get the funding support and level of service they genuinely deserve.

"Mark, Simon and Ryan each bring a stellar track record of driving growth and strengthening governance, having built their careers within some of the UK’s leading professional and financial institutions. They’re joining us at a time when SMEs need a funding partner they can truly rely on to back their ambitions, and I’m delighted to welcome them to the team.”

"These appointments build on the strong foundations we’ve already put in place across our leadership team. UK SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy, yet too many have been underserved by inflexible high street lenders, slow processes and providers they can’t trust."

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