Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking, the division of Lloyds Banking Group which supports small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), has increased its relationship team in the South West with the appointment of Tim Williams as a relationship manager.

Tim will look after a portfolio of Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking customers, providing dedicated banking support to ensure that funding is available to help the region’s businesses seize opportunities for growth. As part of his remit, Tim will work alongside the experienced team in Truro and Cornwall to help clients find funding solutions to suit them.

The team includes Mike Tonkin, who has worked for Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking for over 15 years. Mike currently operates as a property specialist for investment and development lending requirements for West Cornwall.

Chris Wheeler, who joined Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking in 1991, specialises in legal sector clients and his portfolio also includes successful high growth businesses. The team is led by Craig Varley, senior manager, who joined the company in 1989 and has considerable experience working with local enterprises.

Craig said: “It is great that we can welcome Tim to our dedicated team in Truro. It is important that we have the right people at Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking to ensure that the dynamic and diverse business community in this area has all the support it needs to achieve its ambitions.”

Tim has joined Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking from HSBC where he worked for 11 years and last held the position of senior commercial manager in Cornwall, supporting businesses with a turnover of £5m and above in the South West and Wales.

Tim said: “I am looking forward to supporting companies in the local areas of Truro and Cornwall. Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking aims to help SMEs find ways to fund growth and I am excited to be working alongside these businesses to help improve the local economy.

“Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking has a strong track record of helping small to medium sized businesses including a pledge to help 100,000 new businesses to start up every year. We want to encourage the idea of enterprise as a career choice and I can’t wait to get stuck in and start working with the new team.

“To help businesses, we are giving all our SME customers a one per cent discount for the life of their loans across all sectors through the Funding for Lending Scheme and we have committed to lend £5bn to SMEs through the scheme this year. The team are very dedicated and we are very much open for business.”