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.
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.
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
Opening our latest Business Finance Bulletin, as businesses get back on the path growth, what are their top priorities and actions? We look at the findings from the recent Hitachi Capital Business Finance Business Barometer report.
It’s not all good news for businesses though. We review the most recent Red Flag Alert report from Begbies Traynor which reveals a jump in the businesses which class themselves as in ‘significant financial distress. What actions can you take to keep on the right side of the track?
To wrap up this edition, a report from Dun and Bradstreet highlights that a continuation in late practices could hinder the hoped-for business recovery and growth during the remainder of this year.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Google, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.
We open our latest Business Finance Bulletin with the good news that business confidence levels are on the up. The latest Business Barometer report from Hitachi Capital Business Finance reveals that an increasing number of business owners are predicting improved months ahead.
Cashflow can be tight for many businesses, but particularly for start ups. Just Cashflow, the short term finance lender, has announced that alongside their new Business Account, qualifying start ups can now access their Revolving Credit Facility.
To wrap up this Bulletin, we review the latest company insolvency figures which highlight that businesses potentially in trouble continue to be protected by the various government support schemes.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Google, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.
You can read the transcript of this Bulletin below…
Business confidence is starting to return; the short-term lender Just cashflow extends supports to startups; and company insolvencies still remain low. All of this in the latest Business Finance Bulletin.
Business Finance Confidence
Let’s opened this bulletin with some good news. Hitachi Capital Business Finance, as part of their quarterly Business Barometer series, have spoken to approximately 1,300 small business owners and the resounding message is that confidence is beginning to return to the marketplace.
Let’s have a look at those businesses who say that they are predicting growth.
Well, three months ago, 26% of businesses said that they were predicting growth for their business.
Forward three months to today, that figure now stands at 36% of business owners saying that they are planning growth over the coming months. That’s a quite a big increase and that’s a big vote of confidence for the UK economy.
Let’s look at the flip side of businesses who were fearing collapse. Well, 12 months ago, the survey found that 29% of small business owners said that they were fearful that their businesses would not survive.
Now, 12 months later, that figure stands at just 7%. That’s a significant fall and just shows how much confidence is now starting to come back into the market place. But of course, it’s not all plain sailing.
I just want to make you aware of one key thing to look out for and that is growth brings its own problems, particularly in terms of cashflow. When you start growing again, particularly if you’re growing rapidly, there’s a big demand on your cash. You need to buy in stock. You need perhaps to fund the growing debtor book, all of this needs cash.
So do watch that and make sure that you are forecasting your cash flow requirements ahead to make sure that you don’t run out of funds, but overall, a really good vote of confidence for the UK economy.
Just Cashflow Supports Start Ups
Are you planning to start up a new business or you have recently started one? I’m sure you’ll agree that the one thing that can hold you back is cash or more particularly cashflow.
Poor cashflow can be a killer for any business, but for startups in particular it can be very challenging.
The short-term finance provider Just Cashflow has announced, it is now going to support qualifying startups by giving them access to their Revolving Credit Facility, which is a facility up to the amount of £10,000. This sits alongside their newly launched business account which is available via a mobile phone or a desktop app. And it does all of the things that a traditional bank account will do. You can make payments online, both in and out. You have a master debit card as well. It integrates with various software accounting packages.
So it really is a good alternative to your main high street banks and particularly of interest of course to startups, where you may be able to access this Revolving Credit Facility up to £10,000. This facility acts essentially like an overdraft limit where often times when you need to make payments out, but you haven’t got the cash in from your clients yet; it acts like a bridge between cash in and cash out a really useful facility for startups.
If you want to know more about the Revolving Credit Facility and also the new business account, just go along to the just cashflow website, which is www.just-cashflow.com. A great new service by Just Cashflow and good to see that people are out there supporting new start ups.
Company Insolvencies
Let’s take our usual monthly look at company insolvency figures. That’s a bit of a depressing topic, of course, but it’s really important that you watch this, particularly if you provide credit to your customers, by giving them 30, 60, 90 days before paying you. You really need to watch the trends going out there to make sure you don’t get caught out.
The figures as I’ve reported in previous bulletins continue to be very low, which is puzzling compared to where UK economy is at the moment in terms of the stresses out there. The latest figures have been released by the Insolvency Service for March, 2021. And in that month, they were 992 firms that went into some form of insolvency arrangement. Now compared to March, 2020, that is down 20%. And that’s the puzzle. You’ve got lots of stresses in the economy, and yet a lower number of businesses are entering into insolvency compared to March, 2020.
If you wind it back a further 12 months to March, 2019, this figure is down a further 37%. So again, a very large drop in the number of businesses going into insolvency.
But of course, the reason behind this is the level of government support, via bounce backs and the CBILs loans that were given; the furlough or the various grants. But we know all of that is now coming to an end or has come to an end. The distresses will now start to come through.
The other thing of course is the perils that come with growth. And I mentioned in the first segment, you’ve got to watch out when you grow your businesses; growth brings an increased demand for cash. And if you can’t access that, then you may get into trouble. So if you are providing credit, just keep an eye on those firms, making sure that they are financially sound.
Also if you are one of the businesses suffering financially, make sure that you take the appropriate advice. Go speak to your financial advisor, your accountant, or seek out a licensed insolvency practitioner in order to make sure that you seek out the correct advice.
Close
That’s it for this Bulletin. As ever, I hope you liked it and if you did, please, don’t forget to give it a like, a share and of course, subscribe to this channel.
So that’s it and I look forward to being with you next time In the meantime, have a profitable, successful and safe week.
With the traditional year-end slowdown fast approaching, if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to start assessing the impact on your cashflow. How can you avoid hitting a cash crunch?
The British Business Bank has announced support to another niche lender providing Asset Finance facilities to growing businesses. We look at how Compass Business Finance will benefit from being granted access to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.
To close, our monthly review of how the Asset Finance sector is performing in terms of finance provided to small businesses. The latest figures from the Finance and Leasing Association reveal a continuing reluctance among businesses to embark upon any significant investment spend.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.
If you have plans to grow your business, don’t underestimate the vital role cashflow has to play. Fresh from delivering a workshop on financing growth for business growth specialist Gavin Preston, BLS’s Rob Warlow shares the importance of managing cashflow when you’re going for growth… an important lightbulb moment for those attending the session.
The banks are starting to learn from the alternative finance players with news from RBS/Nat West that they are launching an online platform where new and existing customers can apply for loans up to £150,000.
Marketinvoice, the online invoice discounting platform, has announced an enhancement to its service with Marketinvoice Pro which will allow frequent users more flexibility in accessing funds.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.
According to the Centre for Entrepreneurs new company formations are at an all-time high. In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin we look at the numbers and where the entrepreneurial hotspots are.
Metro Bank, one of the so-called challenger banks, has committed to helping more small businesses in 2017 with funds to support growth. How could they help you?
Cashflow problems can hit a business at any time but quarter end and quiet seasonal periods can be particularly tough. We take a look at how short term loans can provide much needed cashflow relief.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.
In this Business Finance Bulletin episode, we start off with news from Funding Circle of a £100m facility from the European Investment Bank for onward lending to UK small businesses. The facility will sit alongside an investment to be made by Funding Circle’s SME Income Fund.
Another growing source of alternative finance is that of asset finance. We look at the latest figures from the Asset Based Finance Association which reveal that facilities extended to small businesses over the last 12 months have dramatically increased.
Cash is the lifeblood of all businesses and a survey from audit and taxation consultants RSM has found that businesses can release cash trapped in their business by better management of day-to-day working capital. I share one key working capital component where cash can often get stuck. In the Bulletin I also reference another video in which I share how you can calculate your Stock Turnover Ratio – a useful tool to spot when your stock is getting ‘stuck’.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.
In this Business Finance Bulletin how has the crowdfunding and Peer to Peer lending sector performed in the first quarter of 2016? The latest figures from the Peer to Peer Finance Association reveal solid growth on the same time last year.
HSBC are the latest bank to pledge increased support to SMEs with the announcement of a pot of cash ready to lend. We also look at HSBC’s online lending application platform to help businesses get quicker answers. Taking a leaf out of the crowdfunder’s book?
What sources of finance are small businesses tapping into and what keeps them awake at night? That’s a question asked by Hitachi Capital in its recent small business survey. The answer to the cause of sleepless nights may not be a surprise.
In the Business Finance Tip of the Week, when a bank says it’s for ‘KYC purposes’, what does it mean?
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.
In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin we review the most recent quarterly survey from the Federation of Small Businesses. The report reveals falling confidence levels amongst SMEs but there’s good news in terms of access to finance with more businesses getting the finance they need.
We have news of another alternative lender, merchant cash advance provider Liberis, which has benefited from the British Business Bank ENABLE programme via a £5m fund to on-lend to growing SMEs.
Businesses in the Greater Manchester area which are exporters or have ambitions to export can now take advantage of a new £9.5m fund. We take a look at how the Greater Manchester Export Fund works.
In the Business Finance Tip of the Week a chat with Steve White of Thornbury Collections in which he shares the strangest late payment excuse he’s ever heard and general tips on managing late payment.
If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.
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.
Shayne Yates | Welsh Government Regional Centre Service Mid Wales
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.
Max Cooper of Manchester
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!
Kay Hyde | Hyde & Hyde Architects
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.
Angela Holloman-Coombes | Connective HR
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.
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