Lloyds Bank has launched a dedicated broker team in a bid to increase the volume of new lending to businesses.

The team of invoice finance specialists will serve commercial finance brokers and their clients and will be overseen by head of broker channel, Karl Leitelmayer.

The move comes after a rise in demand from brokers since the bank launched its new invoice finance commission structure last year.

Brokers who refer their clients to Lloyds can now receive a 40% share of the invoice finance service fee for the lifetime of the bank’s relationship with the client.

Since the new proposition was launched, the number of broker deals completed by Lloyds Bank has more than doubled, the bank says,

Leitelmayer, who was previously the bank’s East Midlands and East England area director for global transaction banking, SME, will report directly to national sales director, Andrew Charnley.

“The intermediary market is growing at pace and we need to make sure that we are aligned to how our clients are reviewing their funding requirements,” says Leitelmayer. “This dedicated team of invoice finance specialists, spread across the length and breadth of the UK, will help us deliver this while enhancing the level of service we can provide our clients.”

Commenting on the new team, Charnley says: “Since we brought our broker proposition to market last year, we’ve seen a significant rise in demand and strong feedback from brokers and clients alike. This new channel will allow this momentum to continue and help us build our wider broker offering moving forward.”