Commercial Loans and Finance - UK

Increasing number of SME's using Invoice Finance

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:22:00 +0000

It's been reported that the number of SME's using invoice finance to increase working capital has risen dramatically in the second quarter of 2010.

It was also reported in the same article that banks have to reserve capital against overdraft facilities even when not fully utilised.

This second point probably explains why many SME's are being pushed into their banks invoice financing facilities (as revealed by our customers) by various means. Once there, what awaits the newly hooked SME is a raft of charges that either didn't exist or are much higher than before the "credit crisis". Once all charges are taken into account there are much cheaper factoring lenders than high street banks out there!

If your business is being pressured into any kind of factoring deal then please feel free to contact us for a no obligation & confidential discussion about alternative commercial lenders.

Property Development Finance Market Improving?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:03:00 +0000

With at least three property development finance lenders returning to the market in recent weeks the signs are that lending to the property sector may be on the up!
These lenders all offer mezzanine funds, even 100% property finance so this must be good news and adds some much needed competition and choice to the market place.
However we think it will be some time before the level of appetite these UK property lenders have to actually fund projects becomes clear.

Business Finance and Your Company

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:25:00 +0000

Your company requires finance and submitting a proposal to your own bank for a business loan is just common sense.

However, should your bank then decline your proposal, then what you do next can be the difference between success and failure! Many will just make an approach to the rest of the high street with the same, already rejected proposal.

Only at the end of that process will the company owner find a business finance broker. The prospective borrower will still expect high street rates even though that avenue has already been exhausted! Well it's just not going to happen - too late!

The more astute company owner will seek out help after the first rejection. Why? - because that owner will realise that a specialist who deals with business proposals every day will be able to adapt, improve and address any weaknesses in the next approach to maximise success.

So, what kind of business owner are you?

Business Finance at Eland Business Services Limited. Finance for UK companies.

Do Non Status Bridging Loans Still Exist?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:56:00 +0000

Non status bridging loans have always been written in the UK regardless of previous credit history. The main criteria has always been the loan to value required meeting bridging lenders current criteria. Is this still the case today?

Bridging finance is typically aligned at or just below the prevailing long term mortgage market because that is one of the main repayment options. With mortgages much more difficult to access, bridging lenders this year have been much more focused on repayment. If the lender believes your credit profile isn't good enough to arrange a mortgage then a bridging application is unlikely to succeed.

Where loan to values are low with plenty of equity in the property offered as security then a bridging loan is still pretty easy to arrange. However, if the bridging loan requirement is anywhere near a lenders maximimum, then the focus will turn to the borrowers ability to pay interest on a monthly basis should things go wrong and the loan period needs to be extended.

Our conclusion is that truly non status bridging loans have pretty much disappeared and things will remain that way until mortgage lending criteria are eased.

Is the housing market improving?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:53:00 +0000

There are without doubt more mortgage products available in the residential housing market today. This may have contributed to the small increase in house prices over the last 3 months as reported by the Halifax & Nationwide.

As bridging lenders products tend to follow the mortgage market any changes from their perspective can be a forward indicator. We note the following news from the bridging loan market:-

A recent broker survey noted an upward trend for bridging loans.
One of our funders has expressed an interest in financing small, niche property development projects.
Another lender has recently raised £75m of capital for new lending.
Finally, one lender has reported a 100% increase in actual lending over recent months.

There is obviously a long way to go before the inevitable recovery, but maybe we have reached a turning point.

The Commercial Property Market

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:22:00 +0000

It doesn't matter whether your interest is in the residential or commercial property market place, it would be highly unusual if London and the South East didn't lead the way in any recovery!

News of a bounce in London's commercial property sales maybe a sign that things have at least stabilised. Property agents Cushman and Wakefield report a 110% increase in London commercial property sales in the 2nd quarter of 2009, driven by bargain hunting overseas investors, distressed sales and the value of sterling.

Although sales are still lower than a year earlier, this can only be good news! Stable or slightly increasing prices may just mean it will become easier for UK borrowers to obtain a commercial mortgage sooner rather than later.

Commercial Finance Brokers

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:50:00 +0000

We have recently been reading about customers looking for business finance who have tried to raise loans via brokers and been charged thousands of pounds in up front fees only to be told the deal cannot be done.

As reputable UK based Commercial Finance Brokers Eland Business Services Limited do not charge any upfront fees. We would recommend that anyone seeking business finance should not proceed with any commercial loan broker who does!

Note that for some deals, for example property related, up-front fees for valuations and legals will be required by lenders. Any such fees should be paid direct to the lender and not the broker!

Key Facts About Equipment Leasing - UK

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:51:00 +0000

Here is our 60 second key facts guide to UK equipment leasing.

Unlike other forms of commercial finance applying for equipment leasing finance is a very simple process. All that's needed is a short one page leasing proposal form and the equipment quote(s) for the initial application. Supporting information to complete the application should already be available such as bank statements and accounts etc.
Timescales from application to loan completion are fast, typically around 2 weeks!
The lower cash outlay normally needed for an equipment finance facility means that you can buy more or higher specification equipment in comparison to outright purchase!
Monthly payments (rentals) are fixed for the term of the lease which means all future costs are known.
By leasing cash can be retained within the business thereby preserving working capital for use elsewhere within the company.
Where sufficient cash is not available to purchase equipment, leasing gives access to plant & machinery that otherwise might not be available.
UK rules mean that 100% of monthly rentals can be offset against tax, this can make leasing cheaper than outright purchase or other commercial loans.
Where the latest technology is a must to remain competitive, leasing provides a sustainable upgrade path at agreed intervals.
Finally, equipment already owned can be used to raise working capital via leasing sale and leaseback finance facilities.

The Banking Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:47:00 +0000

Yesterdays collapse of the share price of Royal Bank Of Scotland can only delay any recovery in interbank lending which is at the heart of the "credit crunch". It could now be argued that RBS has "cleared the decks" and declared all it's loan problems, but what about the other banks? If suspicions remain then no credit easing will take place further delaying any recovery in the commercial loan and personal finance sector!

Invoice Factoring Calculator

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:41:00 +0000

Our web-site offers a number of commercial calculators that help our visitors work out the potential costs of various business loans.

The latest is an Invoice Finance Calculator that will give an illustration of costs and how much cash flow could be increased by based on turnover.

Remember to qualify for a factoring facility a company must trade with other businesses and offer credit terms.

Eland Business Services Limited are specialist Factoring Finance Brokers in the UK.

Bridging loans and buy to let investments

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:46:00 +0000

A news report today says that experienced buy to let investors are using bridging loans to take advantage of "distressed residential & commercial propery sales". Demand for bridging finance has increased by over 200% over the last 9 months, apparently. We think this probably means enquiries rather than completions based on the low loan to values on offer by the larger bridging lenders. However we are positive that the main thrust of the article with regard to experienced landlords is without doubt true.

As commercial loan specialists we can help with all short term bridging requirements and arrange the exit too! Visit our web site for more information and don't forget to check out our latest buy-to-let mortgage deals while you are there.

Upgraded Commercial Mortgage Calculator

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:31:00 +0000

We have upgraded and improved the results from our Commercial Mortgage Loan Calculator as a free benefit for all our web site visitors.

As well as returning the costs for the mortgage interest rate input, the calculator now also gives an example of the costs if interest rates were to rise or fall by 2%, subject to a minimum rate of 1%.

Are The UK Banks Playing Fair?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:09:00 +0000

It seems perverse that the main banks are calling in overdrafts or imposing arbitary credit limits for say an invoice factoring facility on businesses that are growing. This is despite being rescued by the taxpayer (some of them at least), on the condition that they lend "normally", whatever that means.

In fact one of those rescued banks has in fact withdrawn a commercial loan offer for a MBO at the very last moment due to "market conditions". This is for a business that should trade well and actually grow in the hard times that face us.

Yes, there are in fact many companies that will grow even during a recession! It's perhaps too early in the rescue process to pass judgement on the banks, so let's hope they don't make things much worse than they need to be!

Business Leasing - A 100% Commercial Loan

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:18:00 +0000

When searching for Commercial Loans to raise capital for your business the closest you can get to a 100% finance option is Business Leasing! Typically one monthly rental payment suffices as a full deposit to purchase that new asset such as equipment, plant or machinery. The cost of installation, maintenance and warranty could be added to the loan too!

If your company needs new equipment then business leasing could be beneficial. Some of the circumstances where leasing could be the logical choice are:-

You don't have the cash to buy your new equipment but need that asset today.

You do have the cash, but reducing your working capital may compromise your business.

You don't need new plant or machinery but you do have exisiting assets that have a good residual value against which a sale and business leaseback finance facility could be utilised.

Because you can fully offset monthly payments against tax, it makes commercial sense to lease for your business.

Your business assets have a short useful life span and need to be replaced regularly.

For more information we recommend further reading at our specialist Leasing Finance pages.

Can a Bridging Loan Really Complete in Less than 24 Hours?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:18:00 +0000

Most bridging lenders emphasise their speed of service when advertising short term loans. Providing funds within 24-48 hours from application to completion shows the flexibility of non-status bridging loan products and the providers. Can a property deal really be financed in such a short time-scale? Well, the answer is yes, but I wouldn't bank on it!

To achieve such a fast loan completion much of the background work needs to be already available, such as a property valuation that is acceptable to the potential bridging lender with most of the necessary legal work ready and waiting at your solicitors, i.e. search, title deeds etc. Representatives of both the lender and borrowers need to be in a position to move quickly. Even when everything is available things can still go wrong, for example, an unexpected question arises from the documentation provided.

Our simple recommendation is not to get into the position of needing a bridging loan in such a short timescale, even where a more relaxed 5-10 day timeframe is available, the unexpected can cause delays. Where a customer needs to raise cash and a high speed bridging finance solution is the correct loan option then the borrower should minimise the risk of delay by keeping in control of what is in their own domain i.e. own solicitors and providing all requested information at the start of the process as delay here can extend time to completion resulting in a missed deadline.

If you need finance quickly then a good bridging loan broker should be able to help reduce the potential for delays.

More Commercial Finance News

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:19:00 +0000

One of the main unsecured Payroll Finance Lenders in the UK temporarily stepped out of the market place last week leaving just one active lender. This payroll lender currently expects to return once new funds have been raised, maybe in a couple of months.

UK Businesses in their quest to raise working capital are increasingly turning to equipment leasing and more specifically selling and leasing back existing assets. This financing method is typically a much easier way to generate cash for a company and expect requests for leasing to increase in popularity over the coming months. Of course all the main benefits of leasing such as the tax advantages are the same whether equipment is new or re-financed!

Property Development Funding - 100% Funds available in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:50:00 +0000

Many UK property development lenders in the highly geared loan market are now sitting on their hands and not lending. However 100% funding is still available although severely restricted in supply. One of our 100% residential property development loan lenders has an appetite and positive lending attitude for part completed developments bought below market value from receivers.

If you are a UK developer who has identified such a property based opportunity then we would like to hear from you via our main web-site.

Eland Business Services Limited are Property Development Loan Brokers.

Payroll Finance for an Unsecured Business Loan

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:19:00 +0000

UK Businesses seeking to enhance cash flow or increase working capital usually turn to traditional methods of financing such as invoice discounting or factoring. Payroll Finance is a smart, modern, unsecured lending solution that can make available cash equivalent to 2 months of a company's wages or salaries bill!

As a company payroll loan is totally unsecured it will not affect any other financial arrangements a business may have. What's more the company will still be in a position to take advantage of any other commercial loan that may be required. Costs involve a monthly service fee plus interest on any outstanding amount.

A company with a trading history and accounts could raise cash by rolling over wage bills for any business purpose in as little as 2 weeks! For more information on payroll finance and the cash flow alternatives visit Cash Flow Finance and discover your business options.

Commercial Loans - Update Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:37:00 +0000

Further to our previous blog, within the UK business finance market, commercial loan options that do not appear to have been affected by changing criteria are as follows:-

International trade finance seems to have been unaffected by either price increases or loan criteria changes. Therefore exporter and importers requiring "Letters of Credit" or "Forfaiting" can still have similar expectations of funding to the previous 12 months.

The other main business finance area that is relatively unscathed is cashflow finance, although we suspect there may have been some undisclosed changes to criteria in terms of debtor book quality.

Commercial Loan - update

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:53:00 +0000

Finance offerings in the commercial loan market place continues to change weekly.

Just recently we have been informed of changes to either prices or criteria in the following commercial areas:-

Price increases in the cost of equipment leasing from a number of lenders.

In the short term leasehold business sector one of the main lenders has pulled out of the market.

A major bridging loan lender has announced slight price reductions accompanied by a large reduction in what they will lend against property values.

It goes without saying that virtually all high geared property development loan lenders have either greatly tightened their lending criteria or are sitting on their hands!

Commercial deals can still be placed but overall the quality of any business finance proposal submitted by either brokers or borrowers needs to be much higher than previously required.

Factoring Popularity Increasing?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:17:00 +0000

Received some independent research yesterday from a factoring company. Apparently alternative finance options have increased in popularity, with 52% of accountants saying it is now an "attractive source of funding for their clients", with asset based funding increasing by 30% in the last quarter of 2007.

Unfortunately these figures exclude invoice assets. As no invoice figures were supplied with the research we presume this market-place is pretty flat in-line with our experience and what we are hearing from our factoring suppliers.

It's now possible to factor your UK government invoices

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Small UK companies trading with the public sector have historically had cash flow management problems due to the inability to assign government receivables debt. This created a barrier for SME's trying to enter this market place. Although factoring or invoice discounting of trade debts was not specifically disallowed, in practice the relevant public sector contracting authorities never gave consent thereby limiting SME's ability to compete.

Thankfully this position changed in this years budget and it is now possible for firms supplying goods and services to government departments to assign public sector invoices to specialist debt financing lenders without prior approval. If your company would like to know more about factoring debts we recommend reading public sector debt factoring for more information.

Bridging Loan News

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:46:00 +0000

Eland Business Services Limited have just launched a new web-site dedicated to a single finance product as part of our marketing effort.

www.bridgingfinanceoptions.com will focus solely on short term bridging loans to complement our existing general commercial finance site.

If you are an investor, property developer or maybe moving home needing cash fast and reside in the UK why not pay our site a visit.

Property Developers suffering with Finance Problems

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:49:00 +0000

We are increasingly receiving enquiries from UK property developers in distress as banks withdraw or reduce financial support. Developers with any kind of stretched facility or overdraft seem particularly vulnerable.

Fortunately for our customers we have a number of lenders available who will offer re-finance funds at a similar level of costs to the banks. Each development is appraised and finance on merit, therefore not all customers may receive similar terms, but we will do our best!

Why Do Businesses Choose to Lease Equipment rather than Buy?

noreply@blogger.com (The Commercial Finance Broker) — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:48:00 +0000

When seeking any type of commercial finance, there are few areas of business funding that offer 100% finance availability. One area where 100% finance is available is asset based finance for equipment such as plant & machinery, computer hardware etc. In fact it is possible to lease any kind of equipment or asset, in many cases without any deposit, advanced rentals or extra security.

Many people in business think that leasing is for companies short of cash, in some instances that may be the case, but a little research shows that even the biggest companies use leasing to access assets essential to the running of their business.

One reason this finance option is a regular choice is the relative ease with which a leasing arrangement can be set up along with flexible payment terms, plus, other financial tools will still be available to the company. However the main factor in deciding to lease is cost, for most businesses the overall cost of leasing any particular asset or piece of equipment is lower than a cash purchase once loss of interest on cash on deposit and tax rules and deferred VAT payments are taken into account. It should be noted here that this rule may not hold for all businesses for example, start up companies or where poor credit history applies. Whatever individual circumstances apply, your accountant can offer professional tailored advice on any likely savings.

Unlike other finance options leasing offers fixed payments for the term of any agreement therefore easing cash flow management by not reducing working capital available to the company. Other major benefits of leasing is the possibility of upgrading or keeping technology up to date if the right finance option is taken out, adding new equipment to any arrangement is also very easy, especially once a payment record has been established. If you do not take ownership of the leased asset at the end of the term then the lender will have responsibility for it's disposal.

Finally, by opting to lease, funds can be retained within the company to aid growth, but also the opportunity to acquire access to more or higher specification equipment can add significantly to that growth.

I recommend you visit our Business Equipment Leasing page for more information on the topic of leasing.