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Stories Tagged ‘alternative finance’

04 Sep

Ultimate Finance – New Capabilities »

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Ultimate Finance the AIM listed independent provider of invoice finance have developed new capabilities. They have added asset finance and trade finance to their portfolio of products.

The asset finance will allow Ultimate to help clients who are looking for additional finance against plant and machinery and other movable and durable assets.

Trade finance will benefit importers who can benefit from both the protection and cashflow advantages a letter of credit offers.

I am not sure that either products will be available as a stand alone product but suspect they will be offered in conjunction with their core invoice finance offering. It will alow them to raise more finance in some instances than their competitors and this can benefit clients.

It is always good to see lenders developing new capabilities as it enhances the market.

As a lender Ultimate have grown rapidly in recent years and their financial performance has improved recently – their share price have mirrored this. Despite a high turnover of sales staff they do seem to have stability in terms of their operations staff. In terms of client feedback it is generally good although I have encountered regional variances. These regional variances are being addressed from what I can see.

I will be interested to see how these new products are delivered both in terms of pricing and service levels and at the same time wish them luck.

22 Aug

Construction Factoring »

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Construction Factoring is challenging for invoice factoring companies for a number of reasons.

Any invoice factoring company wants to know that the value of any invoice that they have funded against is secure. In the event of business failure they want to be able to approach the clients customer and request that the invoices they have taken good title to are paid in order to recover their position.

With this in mind if you consider how the construction industry operates you will see how this can cause issues for invoice finance companies.

In the first instance most contractors within the construction industry raise ‘applications for payment’ rather than invoices. As such invoice factoring companies cannot take good title to the applications in the traditional manner.

The work done is usually measured weekly, monthly or against specific milestones and as such applications or invoices are raised for a part completed project. Should the contractor fail to complete the project then liquidated damages can come into effect which render the outstanding invoices worthless. As such any invoice factoring company would not recover their position against these invoices.

Retentions at the end of the contract can also cause issues for invoice finance companies but these effect the prepayment level rather than the ability to provide funding.

Bad news for the construction contractor looking for a flexible working capital facility? Well, it is not all bad news. Smart Factoring Quotes have lenders who can provide invoice finance facilities to construction contractors. Get in touch today.

17 Aug

The Bank Says ‘No’ »

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In a recent study by the Institute of Directors (IoD) is was found that 1 in 4 UK businesses have tried to access finance via their banks. Unfortunately almost 60% of those businesses had their applications rejected. What was more worrying was that 83% of those businesses has received no information regarding the available alternatives.

The banks should be offering the government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (EFG) whereby the government guarantee 75% of the facility thus limiting the banks exposure to 25%. There is an argument as to why the banks would lend 25% against a project or to a business that they didn’t believe in but it does at least limit their exposure. They should at least be promoting this facility but it seems to face the same issued that the SFLGS did in terms of lack of acceptance by the banks.

On that basis it is interesting to see invoice finance providers bolstering their offerings with the EFG scheme. I am not sure how active they are in lending but I have seen a fair amount of PR relating to invoice finance providers offering the EFG which is more than can be said of the banks.

But realistically what are the finance options outside the banks?

Well beyond the banks asset finance arms who offer finance against real business assets. They tend to avoid softer assets such as IT and office furniture but will happily consider plant and machinery along with vehicles. Just because you bank has said no to asset finance other options do exist.

The same can be said with invoice finance. The bank invoice finance arms are the most risk averse. As such, just because you have been told ‘no’ does not mean there is not a suitable facility out there for you. The independent invoice finance market can deal with most scenarios.

The commercial mortgage market is severely subdued and lacks alternatives outside the banks. Roughly 2 years ago a dozen or so lenders withdrew from the market literally overnight and that vacuum remains to be filled.

I think businesses need to be flexible in their approach to sourcing finance and maximise the security that sits within the business. That means seeking specialist forms of finance from specialised providers. If your bank can offer 80% against your debtors can an independent specialist invoice discounting provider offer more? The same applies to asset finance and commercial mortgages – shop around and maximise the amount of finance you can generate.

16 Aug

Back Office Service Providers – Beware »

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I have recently taken on a case for a client who is leaving a back office service provider and wanted to highlight some risks associated with employing such a company.

My client is a recruitment business who use a back office service provider to raise invoices, do the payroll, credit control, etc.. This service is similar to factoring but is typically provided to temporary recruitment agencies as an opportunity to outsource almost everyting so the business van focus on sales and placements.

These services receive varied feedback in terms of service levels but unfortunately in this instance the implications are for more serious. The lender concerned has failed to pay over circa £500,000 of monies that was due to HMRC and do not appear to be in any position to do so soon. It would appear that our client remains ultimately responsible for bringing the situation up to date with HMRC.

I understand there was a similar situation with a payroll finance company called Wageroller who went under leaving their clients owing large sums to HMRC.

There are obviously some very reputable providers and Lloyds TSB are possibly the largest with their Cash Friday facility. The fact remains that not all other providers seem to be as reputable or as financially robust so be careful.

I have not mentioned the providers name as I have not spoken to them to hear if there is another side to the story. It does however raise concerns and is certainly worth a post.

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