How to be successful when seeking new or replacement business finance – there is money out there!
Business Finance problems?
Do any of the following 13 situations apply to your business?
1. Are you put off applying for business finance in the current environment?
2. Do you think there is a good chance you will be refused?
3. Does poor availability of funding means it is not worth the hassle?
4. Do you have business growth opportunities that are going to waste?
5. Are there potential acquisitions targets in your market?
6. Are you seeking replacement business finance to fund an MBO/MBI?
7. Is your business burdened with excessive pre-recession debt?
8. Are you bumping along the bottom due to funding problems?
9. Are your creditors putting you under increasing pressure?
10. Are you debtors taking ever longer to pay?
11. Is your current finance provider giving you poor treatment?
12. Do you need Turnaround finance?
13. Would you like to raise business finance to buy a business ‘In Administration’?
If so, follow these easy steps to make sure you get the business finance solution that is right for you:
A. Determine what your business finance needs are? Are you looking for:
- New equity
- New debt finance
- Replacement debt finance
- Replacement invoice discounting
- Replacement factoring
- Short term funding
- Project finance
- Property finance
- Lease finance
- New project finance
B. Consult an expert
Once you have determined what you need it is important to acknowledge that you can’t be an expert in knowing the whole of the finance market in the same way as you know your own market, and that you therefore need to consult with someone who does! This has to be someone you can trust, with no external agenda and who has your interests at heart.
In addition, they should be prepared to do a good deal of work for free whilst they are proving their capabilities, and then only charge you a (reasonable) fee for actually achieving something that helps you and your business!
Once you are confident you have found the right person, take the advice!
C. Be prepared – understand what you are asking for and why you are asking for it
There is a lot of money available to your business if you have a credible plan. It doesn’t have to be a 50 page business plan, but a plan none the less. The reason for the finance should be for something that will be creating new value, whatever that might be. For example nobody is going to lend to a failing business without a viable recovery or turnaround strategy!
REASONS TO BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT BUSINESS FINANCE
Finally there are a number of reasons to be cheerful about solving business funding problems and availability of finance.
- The new challenger banks are hungry for deals – you just need to approach them in the right way!
- There are a large number of High Net Worth individuals and family offices desperate to invest in viable businesses with sustainable and scalable strategies. This includes turnaround opportunities.
- Asset based lenders, Invoice Discounters and Factoring companies are crying out for new business. It is amazing to me that these providers of business finance solutions have struggled to grow their books since the onset of the global financial crisis. There is a massive amount of product development and a real can-do attitude from the more innovative of these providers. You need to choose your provider carefully. Whilst these may appear generic products on the surface, the differing ways of doing business and the little idiosyncrasies mean you need to know the people you a contracting with.
- Alternative finance providers such as crowd funders and invoice auction platforms are making a real difference in enabling those businesses in the know to find business finance solutions.
Finding alternative funding
If the continuing lack of availability of funding is affecting your business, please contact us. We are specialists in this field and can hopefully point you in the right direction.
As always, if you have any comments or any of your own experience you would like to share on this subject, please contact me at john.thompson@transcapital.co.uk or on 0845 689 8750.
Image by: Peter Edin