Meet the team

Three key contributors to Swoop’s success

Ciaran Burke COO and co-founder

Ciaran graduated in business and economics from Trinity College, Dublin.

He began his career at KPMG Sydney as a senior market analyst, then became a management consultant in London, where his clients included EY, Intersport, Vodafone and Oakley. His passion for growing businesses and building a community around them took him to Hiive in 2013.

Ciaran oversaw the development and launch of Hiive.co.uk, the professional network for creative people, which now has over 150,000 registered members and 4,500 businesses on board. These include Google, the BBC, Facebook, Framestore, Channel 4, Penguin and Sony.

In 2018, he co-founded Swoop, overseeing its development and launch.

Stuart Pawelczyk Head of commercial mortgages

Stuart is an experienced SME and property finance professional. As director at Christie Finance, he drew on an in-depth knowledge of sectors such as healthcare, childcare, hotels, pubs, catering and takeaways, petrol stations and convenience stores.

His driving passion is to see business owners – from first-time buyers to real estate professionals –realise their property ambitions.

A commercial mortgage broker since 2014, he has overseen commercial mortgages and loans ranging from £25,000 to £15 million in value.

Skilled in negotiation, sales, management, financial risk, and business relationship management, Stuart operates independently of the banks to find some of the best deals available.

Sam Tasker-Grindley Head of Swoop for Advisors

Sam is passionate about helping business owners and accountants reach their potential and lead the best lives they can.

By day, he is a chartered accountant, heading up the rollout of Swoop to the accounting world. His objective is to help forwardthinking firms scale their funding advisory services and support more of their clients to grow their businesses.

By night, he is co-founder of Studenteer.co.uk, matching students with the charities and good causes that need them most.

Sam graduated from Cardiff University in 2011 and is vice president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’s West Yorkshire and York group.

IF YOU’VE EVER watched the TV show Dragons’ Den, you’ll have an inkling of what raising equity investment is.. In layman’s terms, it’s handing over a chunk of your business in return for fresh capital.

“It’s the purchase of common shares within a company,” explains Swoop’s head of equity, Neil Dillon, “and these entitle the owner to a certain portion of the profits and assets.”

When a start-up seeks fundraising help, Swoop’s equity team starts by reviewing its slide presentation, known as a pitch deck. “And if we think we can help with that raise, and we have the right investor network for them, we’ll take them on as a customer,” says Neil.

In late 2022 investors were cautious and “tiptoeing into deals”, but in the first quarter of 2023 things have changed. “’We’ve seen funds who