Wellington Financial expands North American presence with opening of California office and appointment of Eric Speer

Wellington Financial expands North American presence with opening of
California office and appointment of Eric Speer

TORONTO, CANADA and SANTA MONICA, CA, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -
Wellington Financial LP, a privately held specialty finance firm providing
growth capital to Canadian and U.S.-based companies, today announced the
addition of Eric Speer to its growing team of professionals. Based in
California, he will oversee Wellington Financial's transaction sourcing and
business development activities in the Western region of the United States.
"We are excited to have Eric establish Wellington Financial's presence in the
California region. Over the past five years, our firm has led more than $275
million of Canadian-based growth financings," said Mark McQueen, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Wellington Financial. "With our proven business
model, we've been drawn to the U.S. market by some fabulous deal
opportunities, and are confident that Eric's California presence will enhance
what is already proving to be a welcoming market for our firm."
Continued Mr. McQueen: "We look forward to benefiting from Eric's extensive
venture lending experience, which when combined with our venture debt term
loans and one-stop-shop debt products, will give him the perfect toolbox. We
are well positioned to serve many of the attractive companies that may have
seen their growth opportunities hampered by the recent contraction in the
private debt and equity markets."
Mr. Speer joins us with more than 20 years of experience in the growth capital
market. Most recently, he spent six years as a venture debt lender at Vencore
Capital, providing financing to early-stage and emerging companies. Prior to
Vencore, Mr. Speer financed emerging growth companies in positions he held
with Coast Business Credit and Bank of America.
"Wellington Financial has an excellent reputation with venture capital firms
and knowledge-based industry companies," added Eric Speer. "Our market needs
new sources of capital, and I believe Wellington's decade-long commitment to
the growth sector is a perfect fit for high growth companies on the West
coast."
Mr. Speer holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of
California, Berkeley and an MBA from University of California, Irvine.

About Wellington Financial LP

Wellington Financial LP is a privately held specialty finance firm providing
operating lines of credit, term, venture and amortizing loans up to US$40
million. Wellington Financial LP is currently deploying a US$400 million
investment program via its third fund. Wellington Financial LP is managed by a
partnership controlled by fund management and Clairvest Group Inc. (CVG: TSX),
who jointly have contributed a large financial stake to Fund III. LPs include
several of Canada's largest institutional investors, crown corporations,
financial institutions and pension funds. Visit the fund website at
www.wellingtonfund.com, or the team blog at www.wellingtonfund.com/blog.

SOURCE Wellington Financial LP

Amy Olah, Marketing Manager, Wellington Financial LP, Tel: (416) 682-6002,
aolah@wellingtonfund.com; Eric Speer, Vice President, Wellington Financial LP,
Tel: (310) 994-9142, espeer@wellingtontonfund.com