John Martin, current Group Chief Financial Officer of Wolseley plc, has joined Sonovate’s board as an investor, bringing years of finance and recruitment experience to a company he sees as the alternative finance provider of choice to the recruitment industry.
Martin, who is also former CFO of recruitment specialist Hays plc, and ex CFO of Travelex Group, brings with him over 20 years of experience in senior financial positions, combined with a background as a chartered accountant.
Sonovate, a leading UK fintech start-up, provides finance for recruitment agencies placing contractors, as well as the technology that takes care of all the admin associated with running contractors such as timesheets, invoicing and chasing late payments.
In his new role, Martin will draw on his experience of working in finance for both recruitment and forex companies to help Sonovate strengthen its position as the UK’s number one provider of contract finance to recruitment agencies. Martin’s appointment comes shortly after the placement of Paul Saunders, former board director of Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, to the Sonovate board in November 2014.
Discussing his new role, Martin comments: “Sonovate is an enormously exciting business and I’m delighted to join during a period of such impressive growth. It’s challenging an industry that’s saturated by old fashioned finance products offered by banks, and one that hasn’t developed in decades. Sonovate is providing finance that is tailored specifically to the recruitment industry – something banks and other financial institutions just can’t do.”
Richard Prime, CEO of Sonovate, comments: “We are thrilled to welcome John to the Sonovate board. John’s unrivalled knowledge of the innermost workings of finance at globally-recognised corporations will help push Sonovate to the next level as we look to help more recruitment agencies than ever, from small to enterprise size, secure the right finance to help them grow.”
Martin concludes: “There’s no doubt that Sonovate is the future of contract finance; no longer do agencies have to rely on banks to secure the necessary finance to overcome the cashflow headache presented by contract recruitment, or waste time on all the administrative tasks associated with running contractors – that’s Sonovate’s job!”
Since launching its contract finance offering in January 2014, Sonovate has already overtaken the banks in terms of new deals recorded to become the number one provider of contract finance to UK recruitment agencies.
