Raising Business Finance: Planning Ahead
Businesses are accumulating cash due to political and economic uncertainty. Are you ready for when that money is released and hits the market?
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
Businesses are accumulating cash due to political and economic uncertainty. Are you ready for when that money is released and hits the market?
If you’re a growing businesses it can be a struggle to fund expansion and day-to-day working capital from internal resources.
If you are a business based in Wales and planning to raise finance in the near future then you may be interested a series of free workshops hosted by Business Wales.
Business Loan Services’ Rob Warlow will be leading these four hour workshops looking at:
The workshop venues and dates are:
Wrexham – 5th February
Bangor – 6th February
Brecon – 13th February
Narbeth – 27th February
To find our more and to book on these free workshops, visit Business Wales website.
Thanks to all our clients and introducers who helped make 2017 another great year for BLS in supporting growing businesses in need of finance.
We look forward to assisting you and other businesses achieve your growth plans in 2018.
Thanks again and have a Happy New Year!
The invoice finance and asset-based lending sector is providing an increasing share of finance to UK businesses according to latest data released by UK Finance, the trade body for the finance industry.
The amount of money raised via invoice finance (a method of unlocking cash tied up in invoices) and other asset-based finance such as leasing and HP, is up 13% year-on-year. The total amount outstanding sits at just over £22 billion, which is the highest advances figure ever.
There are just over 40,000 UK business now using this form of finance, although this number has remained relatively static.
With the government focused on driving up UK exports, the exporting picture is particularly strong, with sales from clients through export invoice discounting facilities up 33% year-to-date, and export factoring up 11%.
UK Finance wants to see the government do more to encourage smaller businesses access funding via these sources. They are calling on the government to bring forward long-awaited legislation to give more smaller firms access to much-needed funding.
Many small businesses find themselves trapped by o-called ‘ban on assignment’ clauses, which are sometimes imposed by larger businesses on their smaller suppliers. This can restrict the finance options available to those supplier businesses. To address this, the UK Government is expected to bring forward revised Business Contract Terms (Assignment of Receivables) Regulations in the New Year.
It can be frustrating when you are in desperate need of finance to expand your business and you get a resounding ‘no’ from your bank.
Why have they refused?
Very often it’s a reason which, if you had known about at the start of the process, you could easily have addressed.
The old saying ‘forewarned is forearmed’ is very apt in this case.
In this podcast BLS’s Rob Warlow talks about the 7 reasons why a bank would say ‘no’. Take notes and get yourself prepared for the next encounter with your bank!
Has your bank said ‘no’ to your business finance request?
One reason could be that you have no financial information or it’s out of date. In this interview, BLS’ Rob Warlow explains why you need to have financial information in order to access finance.
Getting a business loan will involve the bank reviewing your bank statements. But what is the bank looking for?
In this interview Rob Warlow from Business Loan Services explains what a bank can glean about your character just by looking through your bank statements.
In the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at a new product launched by Market Invoice, the online invoice discounting provider. The new product called Contract Finance will help businesses release previously locked-up cash from contracts delivering regular income.
According to a survey from Bibby Financial Services business confidence amongst SMEs has taken a dent and bucked the recent trend of a rise in more confident businesses. Why is this?
Rob reveals the sources of finance business owners are turning to as featured in a survey carried out by Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking. Which source is proving surprisingly popular?
In the crowdfunding world, the latest lending figures from the P2P Finance Association show that its members are reaching new highs in their support of growing businesses. Rob looks at how SMEs are benefiting.
And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week, Rob shares a calculation you can make from your Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Accounts which can help pinpoint a problem in your stock control.
If you prefer to listen to the podcast version you listen in below or download it via our Soundcloud or itunes channel.
In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the findings of the Competition and Market Authority review into the UK banking sector and its recommendations for easier SME banking.
What’s the difference in attitude towards alternative finance between relatively young businesses compared to more mature ones? That’s a question posed by Business Banking Insight and their findings suggest that older businesses need to look at alternative sources of finance just as their younger upstarts are.
Rob reviews a survey from crowdfunder FundBird on businesses appetite to borrow and what they are financing if they are successful in obtaining funding.
Staying with crowdfunding Rob looks at the news from Funding Circle of its entry into the European market with the acquisition of the German crowdfunding platform ZenCap.
And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week, a clip from a live seminar in which Rob shares insights into what should be included in a Business Plan written for the bank.
If you prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download via our SoundCloud or itunes channel.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.