Euro Sales Finance, the largest independent provider of sales finance to small and medium-sized entrepreneurial companies throughout the EU - celebrated the official opening of its Southampton office with a party attended by local business leaders and corporate finance professionals.

"We are delighted to be opening-up in Southampton - particularly at a time when a number of other financial intermediaries, have closed their doors," said Russell Warner, recently promoted managing director for the South of England at ESF.

"We are pleased to be bucking the trend and feel firmly committed to the region. In any case, the SMEs that we are targeting need partners on the ground to support them. Our goal is to be an integral member of the local business community."

Situated at Saxon Gate, the business is managed by Steve George, a well-known local dealmaker who joined the firm recently from Capital Bank, with support from Phil Oakes, director of the South Coast region.

Mr George has more than ten years' experience in the area and has a myriad of contacts in the corporate finance marketplace. He began his career with Midland Bank in the Poole area and has since worked with both Associates Cap, and Alex Lawrie. In 1998, he established the Southampton regional office for Capital Bank - the sales finance arm of Bank of Scotland.

"We have already made contact with the majority of dealmakers and business leaders in the Southampton area about our decision to open an office here - and they have all been supportive of our move and encouraged by our investment in the city," said Mr George. "We will be the only independent sales finance company located in Southampton and, with our pan-European presence, we are in an excellent position to serve this community."

The firm says it is confident that its success in the Thames Valley, will be repeated on the South Coast. In its first 15 months of business, ESF in the Thames Valley achieved an impressive five-fold increase in clients and doubled staff numbers.

"Our goal is to open offices in all the major business conurbations in the South- and opening up in both the Thames Valley and Southampton is part of that," says Russell Warner. "We are now looking at opportunities to the East of the region."

"The South of England is a busy and exciting area for ESF," says Russell Warner. "There are plenty of companies in Southampton - start-ups and small and medium-sized companies with a turnover of up to £50 million - which require the sort of services we can provide. We are therefore looking forward to enjoying the sort of success here that ESF continues to achieve in the Thames Valley and, indeed, throughout Europe."