Raising finance to grow your business is not about today, it is about tomorrow. The right finance package can be a positive force within your business, one which can be used to propel your business forward.
Building a bigger, better future… that’s what we do
When you’re looking for finance to grow, a lender will want to see a well constructed Business Plan. A great Plan sets out a clear vision for the future, a future in which you soar above your competition.
Helping business owners soar… that’s what we do.
The whole process of raising finance can be a distraction and divert your attention away from what’s important. With mounting priorities it’s a case of which one has to wait. Typically raising finance is one task that can grind you down.
Making it happen… that’s what we do
No one wants to stay in the same place; it’s boring and monotonous. Growth is much more exciting but getting to the next level takes money and with it a range of financial options to consider.
Taking your business to the next level… that’s what we do
One alternative source of business finance that is growing in popularity is family and friends.
In this clip taken from an ‘Access to Finance’ seminar for the accountancy body, ACCA, Rob Warlow talks about the pros and cons of getting business finance from this source.
Beware!
Posted on 14.01.2014, by Rob Warlow
The number of new peer-to-peer lending sites continues to increase with the recent launch of Lending Works.
Lending Works, which focuses on the personal loan market, is headed by a team from the banking, accountancy and finance industries, and it aims to provide a simple, flexible and transparent way for users to lend and borrow money.
In line with the traditional P2P model Lending Works’ online platform allows people to lend their savings for a competitive return to creditworthy people requiring finance. Personal loan borrowers are prudently selected by the company’s team of highly experienced underwriters using advanced underwriting techniques and electronic credit scoring. Loan terms and lending periods are both one to five years.
To kick start the business Lending Works completed a successful pre-launch fundraising round raising £3.5 million from venture capital and angel investors.
Rates are promised to be highly competitive for both lenders and borrowers and the company is targeting a net return to lenders of approximately 5.1% AER when their money is lent for five years.
Whilst the platform is there to fund personal financial needs research shows that many business owners do resort to using personal funds as a source of business capital.
You can find out more about Lending Works here.
Posted on 03.12.2013, by Rob Warlow
When dealing with clients looking to raise finance or in the seminars we run it’s surprising how many business owners are only just beginning to realise that Asset Based Finance is a growing source of alternative finance.
The sector supports growth by financing asset purchases via leasing, hire purchase and unlocking cash through invoice discounting and factoring.
The latest figures for the three months to September 2013 from the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) have shown that the industry and its clients are continuing to perform strongly.
At the end of September members of the ABFA had total advances out to its clients of £17.4 bn, which is 6% up on the same period in 2012 (£16.4 bn). This is only the fifth time the funding balance has been above £17 bn and this demonstrates that the demand for asset based finance is strong and growing with firms increasingly using it to fund growth and their working capital requirements.
This growth contrasts with that of the wider finance market where bank lending continues to contract at the rate of approximately 3% per annum.
ABFA has also looked at how those businesses using asset based finance have performed; total sales from those businesses broke £71 bn for the third quarter, the strongest ever quarterly performance. This is up by some 14% on the same period last year.
There is a myth that asset based finance is more for larger businesses but the industry does support smaller businesses, with almost 15,000 of the over 43,000 clients being found in the £0 – 0.5 m turnover bracket, and over 30,000 in the sub £5 m bracket.
In terms of sectors they support, asset based financiers are most active in the services (30%), manufacturing (29%), distribution (24%), transport (7%) and construction (5%) sector.
If you are planning for growth check out how asset based finance can support your plans… it’s all about diversifying your funding sources.
Check out the video below on how buying assets via an asset finance facility can work for you.
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Posted on 20.11.2013, by Rob Warlow
The crowdfunding and peer-to-peer (P2P) loan market has been very much focused on providing short to medium term loans for traditional business needs such as additional working capital and asset/equipment purchases.
However, in a sign that the P2P market is maturing, some players are starting to venture into property funding.
Funding Circle, the most recognised marketplace for business loans, has signalled its intent to move into the property finance space, with the hire of Luke Jooste, formerly Commercial Director at Barclays Business. With an extensive experience in the property sector Luke has been brought in by Funding Circle to develop a property-focused offering.
Depending on what exactly the product is it should be a good source of property funding and will be music to the ears of businesses operating in this industry who have been badly serviced by the traditional High Street banks. I suspect the service will initially focus on secured bridging loans which is an easy toe in the water.
The P2P bridging market though does have a new confirmed entrant. Existing bridging lender Wellesley has launched a peer-to-peer lending service with the aim of funding its short-term loans.
Private investors will be able to fund bridging and development property loans of up to £1m. The shareholders of Wellesley are committing £5m so they will invest along side private investors.
The property being funded will be taken as security and sold if borrowers default. In this instance, the private lenders will be paid off first, with Wellesley’s shareholders being repaid from the remainder.
You can find out more here, Wellesley
Hi Rob, it was so interesting and entertaining listening to you at the Kevin Green Wealth Coach Workshop in Reading this weekend! I didnt realise you can find Finance proposals such fun!. Brilliant tips! Thanks.
I wanted to thank you for such an insightful, energetic, and entertaining talk at the Kevin Green Wealth event on securing funding and creating a successful plan. It was brilliantly executed and a pleasure to listen to and the ideas I’ve learned are definitely going to help me in going forward.
Rob delivered a series of 3 workshops aimed at understanding how finance houses look at finance propositions with the aim for us as a team to deliver more of a bespoke offering to our customer base. The training was delivered to a mixture of staff who work with new businesses start-ups and existing established businesses across Mid & South West Wales. Rob delivered the training with an abundance of passion and has really helped my team look at financial propositions in a different light, many thanks again Rob and I look forward to work with you in the near future.
Rob kindly agreed to attend the recent Pontypridd RFC sponsors networking evening and delivered what can only be described as an excellent talk on 5 Tactics to Boost Your Business and Your Profits. He kept the audience engaged throughout and the feedback from everyone was excellent. Rob is very knowledgeable on business and finance and on top of that is a genuine nice guy. We hope to have him back at a future event and I have no hesitation in recommending Rob’s services.
Further to your recent presentation at LEAD Wales just wanted to say it was very refreshing to see somebody talk passionately and positively about finance, very insightful!