Linked Finance appoints Niall O’Grady as chief executive

Linked Finance has appointed former Permanent TSB executive Niall O'Grady as its new chief executive.

He replaces outgoing chief executive Niall Dorrian, who is stepping down after five years, but will remain as non-executive director.

Mr O’Grady spent 17 years with Permanent TSB, and was commercial director of the bank until 2016, when he left to join online insurance company 123.ie.

Linked Finance said Mr O’Grady will lead the company through its next phase of growth.

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The business lending firm was approved in January as a lender under the Government’s Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS), the first non-bank lender to be gin such approval. The scheme is designed to offer low cost working capital and capital expenditure loans for businesses affected by Covid-19.

The company has since funded more than €3 million worth of loans to SME customers.

Mr O’Grady said he was excited by the opportunity offered by his new role. “Talking to customers this week, I can see a clear need for the speed and simplicity of our finance offering. It has been great to join a business just as we start to offer the Government’s Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme to our customers. We have seen record levels of interest and we are able to move very quickly to fund great Irish businesses under this important scheme.”

Linked Finance chairman Michael Cawley welcomed Mr O'Grady's appointment. " He has an excellent track record at growing financial services companies and we will benefit from his extensive experience building Linked Finance into a high performing, fast growing business," he said.

Since its establishment in 2013, the business has grown to deliver more than €143 million in loans to Irish businesses, supporting companies such as Lolly & Cooks, Murphy's Ice Cream, Iconic Offices and the Irish Fairy Door Company.