Reward, which provides SMEs with tailored business finance loans and asset based solutions of up to £5 million, launched a Scottish arm last year, led by Brian Machray.

Fife-based Moda Ceramics, an independent, contemporary porcelain and ceramic tile specification company, benefited from £150,000 in flexible working capital to assist with receivables and large orders imported from Europe.

Scotland’s first industrial-scale tyre recycling plant, UK Rubber, based in Motherwell, took advantage of a £350,000 working capital facility to help improve operational efficiencies, invest in vital machinery, recruit and support its drive to increase revenues by 92%.

Brian Machray, Reward’s business development director for Scotland, said: “The first 12 months of establishing any business in a new market can be extremely challenging, so to go on such a rapid growth trajectory has been a superb achievement.

“Our success across Scotland is largely down to the speed, simplification and transparency of lending and going the extra mile for clients to provide a truly tailored funding solution. I’m immensely proud of the continued hard work and expertise within the team here and being able to fund the ambitions of so many SMEs across the country.”

Nick Smith, group managing director for Reward, added: “It’s fair to say that our first 12 months of trading in Scotland has completely exceeded our expectations.

“£8.3m is a significant sum to inject into the Scottish economy in just 12 months and we’re now looking to the future, growing the team here further and providing more working capital to help SMEs seize new opportunities, accelerate their business growth or simply get through a brief period of difficulty.”