Toby Clayton

Commercial finance professional with more than 12 years of experience delivering growth across broker, vendor and direct customer channels within asset finance and SME lending. Track record of exceeding lending targets, developing strategic commercial partnerships and driving profitable portfolio growth across agricultural, transport, construction and wider business finance sectors. Combines relationship-led business development expertise with strong commercial judgement, stakeholder management and an increasingly strategic focus on technology, transformation and customer experience.

Trusted by senior leaders to manage key relationships, influence business outcomes and contribute to large-scale transformation initiatives. Seeking to leverage a proven record of commercial delivery, leadership and change management within a progressive financial services organisation.

Specialist Business Development Associate (Broker) at Paragon Bank – SME Lending (2025-09 – Present)

• Manage and develop relationships with more than 70 broker partners across multiple asset classes and lending products.
• Contribute towards delivery of a £50 million team lending target across hard assets, soft assets and SME lending solutions.
• Take ownership of opportunities throughout the sales cycle, from initial qualification through to payout.
• Drive new business activity while strengthening engagement, advocacy and commercial performance across broker accounts.

Transformation Lead at Paragon Bank – SME Lending (2023-07 – 2025-09)

• Appointed to a specialist transformation function responsible for continuous enhancement of the SME Lending broker portal.
• Partner with stakeholders across the business to identify improvement opportunities and define strategic priorities.
• Create and test user stories, ensuring developments deliver measurable improvements to user experience and operational efficiency.
• Support delivery of technology-led change initiatives aligned to broader business objectives.

Regional Relationship Manager at BNP Paribas / Claas Financial Services (2020-04 – 2023-03)

• Managed a strategically important agricultural finance territory covering 9 dealer locations and more than 20 sales professionals.
• Developed finance penetration across both new and used equipment while strengthening dealer engagement and customer relationships.
• Delivered £24 million of finance volume against a £22.5 million target in 2022 (my final full financial year in the role).
• Generated over £1 million of net income and completed more than 350 transactions during the same period.
• Built strong relationships with dealers, sales teams and end-user customers, supporting sustainable portfolio growth.

Relationship Manager / Internal Account Manager at Société Générale Equipment Finance (2018-04 – 2020-03)

• Managed a portfolio of broker and vendor accounts across transport, construction and industrial sectors.
• Acted as lead relationship contact, overseeing service delivery, portfolio performance and business development activity.
• Delivered annual portfolio volumes exceeding £38 million while supporting profitable growth across key accounts.
• Structured and qualified complex transactions in excess of from £5,000 to £500,000.

Internal Account Manager at Société Générale Equipment Finance (2016-02 – 2018-04)

• Managed transactions through the full sales cycle from quotation and proposal through to documentation and payout.
• Supported relationship managers in growing and retaining high-value broker and vendor relationships.
• Maintained strong pipeline management disciplines and consistently delivered high service standards.

Payout Coordinator / Account Manager at Société Générale Equipment Finance (2014 – 2016)

• Developed strong technical and commercial foundations within the asset finance sector while supporting transaction processing and account management activities.

A Levels / AS Levels / GCSEs – Churston Ferrers Grammar School