Eurofactor UK has announced a name change to Crédit Agricole Commercial Finance. Strand Financial has been instrumental in the marketing of the rebrand, writing and designing the web site, www.ca-commercialfinance.co.uk, the new corporate brochure and breaking the announcement to the media.

Commenting on the announcement, Managing Director Jeff Longhurst explains: "Having Crédit Agricole as the cornerstone of our branding signals our strategic intent to become a significant player in the UK receivables and asset-based lending mid-market. We bring businesses the best of both worlds: The experience and local knowledge of a nationwide team, combined with the financial strength, presence and resources of one of the largest banks in the world. The new name is reflective of our positioning in elevating our commercial strike-zone, as demonstrated by the number of recent transactions spanning £5 million to £50 million. I am pleased to report that the business is up 40% on this time last year and that we have recently completed a participation in a £140 million confidential invoice discounting line to a major PLC."

Ian Flaxman, Strategic Director of Crédit Agricole Commercial Finance adds: "We are committed to working in partnership with our clients, supporting their ambitions and sharing with them the excitement, intensity and commitment they bring to their businesses. The new name, together with the new strap line, 'Connected by Ambition' and our core values, 'Cohesion', 'Openness', 'Accountability' and 'Entrepreneurship', supports our shared vision and governs our business relationships. The expansion of our team through taking on highly experienced asset-based lending professionals and, of course, the strong relationship with our parent bank, underpins our desire to support businesses in the SME and Mid-Markets - companies that are the engine of the UK economy."

Crédit Agricole is France’s No. 1 banking organisation with 28% of households and is present across the entire spectrum of banking and finance activities. It serves 58 million individual customers in the world and develops a network of 11,850 branches in more than 20 countries. Crédit Agricole is the largest retail bank in Europe in terms of income from retail banking. It is leader in France, ranks third in Europe and ninth worldwide in terms of Tier 1 capital (The Banker 2009). The Group is present in 70 countries and has more than 160,000 employees worldwide.