Fintech firm Levantor Capital has hired Damien de Baenst and David Hicks to its business development team, as the company reports a leap in its Q1 financing volumes.

The London-headquartered firm provides short-term working capital solutions, arranging more than US$2bn in short-term financing for its customers since mid-2017 with over US$800mn financed in Q4 2019.

In a statement, Levantor says that both hires are a result of an increase in financing volumes in Q1 2020, which have grown four-fold compared with the same quarter last year.

De Baenst joins from Lexmark International, a printing products and solutions company, where he held several roles, most recently as head of distribution for Emea. Prior to joining the company in 2007, he worked for global telecomms company Orange Group in various managerial positions.

Meanwhile Hicks, who has worked as a consultant for Levantor since mid-2019, will now take up an in-house role in the same team.

Hicks has held numerous positions supporting manufacturers and their regional distribution partners with payables and receivables-based trade finance programmes to facilitate sales growth, working in the past at Deutsche Bank and IBM in business development roles.

Nigel Bottrill, head of business development at Levantor, tells GTR that the new employees will have “industry-specific focuses” and that the business is hiring staff to meet demand, while also developing new and existing markets. He says that Levantor has also recently created a subsidiary company in Geneva.

Hicks takes up his position in London and de Baenst will continue to be located in Geneva, with both new hires reporting to Bottrill.

“We are extremely pleased that both Damien and David have joined the business development team at Levantor Capital,” says Bottrill.  “Damien and David bring significant business experience to support our clients and strengthen Levantor’s offering within the order-to-cash ecosystem.”