Member Spotlight: Chris Carter, Experienced Finance Professional River Capital

1. Introduce yourself

I’m Chris, an experienced finance professional with a background of working in roles within Banking, SME funding, Corporate Finance and Debt Advisory. A Preston lad, I have operated predominantly around the North West and following a stint on the ‘other side’ of the Pennines, I am excited to now be back working in Manchester deploying the Business Growth Loans fund to SMEs across the North West.

2. Career highlight

I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked with Companies from start-up to FTSE 100 listed entities in my 20-year career . My highlight is that I have been able to support and add value to Businesses across the whole of this spectrum whilst developing a rounded skillset that stands me well for my role with River Capital.

3. Name three words that describe your personality

People-centric

Tenacious

Humble

4. What’s the best thing about pro-manchester

Pro Manchester delivers first-class connectivity to the local Professional Network via events and editoritals, allowing for the profiling of services and experienced intel from the professional community that allows collaborative working to the thriving North West business ecosystem.

5. What are your priorities for 2025

My priorities for the coming year (and beyond) are to add value to Greather Manchester and the North West based SMEs with their aspirations and funding requirements from the Business Growth Loans fund, whilst establishing & showcasing River Capital and the suite of funds that we deploy. For this to be achieved, establishing both me and River Capital in Manchester with the professional community is absolutely essential and something that is at the top of my priorities.

6. What do you think are the most important things going on in Manchester at the moment?

Manchester over the past decade has changed dramatically with a growing number of owner-managed businesses across a range of sectors choosing Manchester over the likes of London to do their business. As such, Manchester is now one of the largest economic centres in Europe and with that, enhances the requirement for support from the likes of Pro-Manchester, the Chamber, and GMCA to connect professional services and founders.

As Manchester continues to evolve, River Capital’s ability to integrate public and private efforts will be critical to fostering a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive business landscape. It’s important then that businesses are aware of the financial support available to them whether it be Debt, Equity or Venture funding requirements of which there are number of options across the region.

At River Capital we are well positioned to support businesses at various stages of their growth journey and something that will be important to us this year is ensuring that those businesses, founders and intermediaries are aware of this so we can help more and more businesses, both across the city and regionally.

7. Favourite meeting place in Manchester

Haunt for a coffee (plus the Cannoli’s are fantastic!)

Brotherhood or Sam’s Chop House for ‘something stronger’…

and, spoilt for choice when it comes to a bite to eat!

8. Are their any particular types of businesses that you would like to meet

I am extremely interested in meeting with businesses, and those that provide services to these, who are planning to review their current funding or considering their growth plans in 2025. Maybe this is for growth by acquisition, growth of their staffing needs, or a restructuring event such as an MBO, I would be delighted to discuss this further to see how the Business Growth Loans fund can play a part in the success of these SMEs.

 Get In Touch (optional)

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07943 103427

(3) Chris Carter | LinkedIn