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Stories Tagged ‘Invoice Finance Brokers’

Convertibill are an Irish lending platform that are expanding in to the UK. They provide working capital finance against confirmed orders from credit worthy buyers and also against outstanding invoices.

As business finance brokers Funding Solutions UK Ltd have had a few dealing with Convertibill and it would be fair to say that they have not gone well. It would also be fair to say that we won’t be having any more dealings with them. I would question their honesty and integrity for a few reasons. Here is a brief description of some of our interactions:

We introduced a client who provided specialist type of marine funding. Convertibill signed an NDA as the client was worried that their product would be copied. Convertibill requested more and more information and the client was suspicious that they were merely trying to obtain information from them so they could copy their approach or learn more about how to fund this type of transaction. When the client raised this the enquiry was closed down and they refused to acknowledge the signed NDA. Patrick Reynolds CEO advised, “There is no NDA from June” and despite sending him a copy of the signed NDA he refused to acknowledge it. Our client is now taking legal advice.

We introduced another client who was looking to bridge an investment transaction that included funding from the Future Fund. Convertibill advised that they could help but that they required a £15,000 commitment fee to start the process. The client paid the £15,000 and then asked if they could change the transaction. This request was the next day. Convertibill advised that they could no longer assist and that they had spent the £15,000 on legal fees and on securing the required funding. In my opinion this is a nonsense and is pure profiteering. Again, our client is taking legal advice.

As a finance broker I earn money from setting up finance facilities for my clients. I had referred a client to Mark Runiewicz of Convertibill and specifically request that he provided a stand alone trade/purchase finance facility for the client as they were happy with their invoice finance provider. Mark entered in to talks with the client and then introduced them to 3 invoice finance providers. These 3 lenders were Skipton Business Finance, Optimum Finance and Gener8. We were never advised of this by Mark but they client alerted us to this. Strangely, Mark then claimed that Convertibill had now started to fund against debtors and that they would fund the full transaction. It is my opinion that Mark was trying to broker this invoice finance requirement for himself. With one lender I checked with the lead was logged in the name of Mark’s business SC Advisors Limited who would have received the commission had the transaction completed. Putting our situation to one side it seems strange that Mark is employed by Convertibill but is introducing an invoice finance requirement to other lenders. Even more strange when you consider that is what we do as a business!! Market Finance were the incumbent invoice finance provider and they refused to work with Mark Runiewicz and Convertibill. At the time this seemed harsh to me but having done some investigation it appears they may have been concerned with Mark’s previous involvement with other P2P lenders via his business UK Exim Finance Limited and UK Exim Limited. The information at Companies House would suggest that these relationships did not end well. Type these business names in to Google and look at the filing history at Companies House. It appears that lenders lost money and a significant amount due the activities of these businesses.

Something really doesn’t feel right about Convertibill. My advice would be to proceed with extreme caution. Arguably, there are other options out there so maybe explore those.

If you are reading this as a fellow business finance broker I would also proceed with extreme caution. There are questions about how client introductions are handled but I also have reason to believe that they work hard to find ways not to pay broker commissions and may indeed pride themselves on their ability not to pay brokers. At a senior level within the business there seems to be a dislike for brokers and a willingness to find ways not to pay brokers the agreed fees.

Updated 5 October 2020.

 

I was approached by Convertibill and asked to take the post down. The initial conversation included a threat of legal action for libel if I did not take it down within 24 hours. With a view to learning more about their side of the story and as a gesture of goodwill I took the post down. However, whilst explanations were offered they did not change my opinion of what occurred. What I have posted is based on my honest opinion.

 

In addition, there has been an article published in the Telegraph on 2nd October 2020 about the businesses that Mark Runiewicz has run and the potential losses they have caused in the P2P lending sector. The articles are in the images below:

 

 

Invoice Finance is available in Newcastle from a large selection of lenders.

The challenge is to find the best lender to meet the needs of your Newcastle based business.

This will depend on a large number of factors including your financial status, turnover, sector, how you raise invoices and who your customers are. Each invoice finance company has their own individual criteria and characteristics and because of this there will be on particular lender who is best suited to meet your needs.

Smart Factoring Quotes understand each lenders criteria and capabilities. This allows us to source the best possible facility for your business.

We have recently been approach by several businesses in and around Birmingham who are looking for factoring facilities. Being based in Birmingham has some serious advantages as it means that virtually every factoring company in the UK can service businesses there as they are so central in terms of location.

The challenge for any business based in Birmingham is choosing the right lender. Not all factoring facilities are the same – far from it. As most require a contract to be signed it is important you choose the right factoring facility and lender.

Invoice finance companies each have their own target market and this will be based on business turnover, sector, geography, debtor profile, etc.

Smart Factoring Quotes were approached by a residential care provider just outside Glasgow.

They were keen to source factoring Scotland. They were paying staff on a weekly basis but were having to wait a considerable amount of time to get paid by the local authorities.

We explored several options for them including full factoring, CHOCS and invoice discounting. As the credit control was not really an issue they decided that factoring was not good value as they were paying for a credit control service they just did not need.

We were able to source an invoice discounting facility that was much cheaper but still met all their requirements.

We have a lot of clients in Scotland and have an excellent network of lenders covering Scotland.

We are often approached by companies looking for factoring companies in Leeds.

This request usually comes from companies who are in and around Leeds and want a local provider. Fortunately there are a good choice of factoring companies in and around Leeds. The right one for you will depend on the size of your business, your sector and your financial performance.

There are also a large number of factoring companies outside Leeds who are happy to help Leeds based businesses with a factoring facility.

Smart factoring Quotes would be delighted to help you find a suitable provider.

When looking for factoring advice I am always amazed at who people approach. I accept that my views may be tainted somewhat as I am a factoring broker but it is what I specialise in and I know and am 100% impartial.

Let’s have a look at who business owners will approach to obtain a recommendation for factoring:

Bank managers – your bank manager will only ever recommend their own bank’s factoring company. They are heavily targeted to sell this product so you will receive a single recommendation not taking into account what your requirement is or what the market can offer. In contrast a factoring broker can look at your requirement and recommend the lenders best placed to meet your needs.

Accountants – unfortunately a lot of accountants take commissions from invoice finance providers (as do invoice finance brokers) The problem is that accountants do not specialise in setting up invoice factoring facilities and often do not look at it as in depth as they should. They will also have a few localised relationships rather than using the whole market.

Brokers owned by factoring companies – some brokers are actually owned by factoring companies. As such guess who they are most likely to recommend? If you are using a broker at least ensure they are independent and impartial.

Brokers owned by insolvency practitioners – this may seem like a strange relationship but insolvency practitioners are keen to be appointed by factoring companies. If they can offer factoring companies new business they are likely to receive more appointments. As such you could find yourself placed with a factoring company they owe a favour to rather than the one best placed to meet your needs.

In my opinion you should be taking factoring advice from a specialist and someone who is 100% impartial and independent.

There are a lot of good brokers in the market who are specialists and totally impartial.

At Smart Factoring Quotes we are totally independent and impartial. We are also specialists as invoice finance is all we do.

Cash flow problems within your business can be solved by looking at several solutions.

Some of those solutions for cash flow problems are financial solutions and involve borrowing money or restructuring existing facilities. The others are operational changes in terms of how you operate your business. Let’s look at each of them briefly:

Working capital facilities

You could look at an overdraft, invoice discounting or factoring facility. If one of these is already in place you could look to restructure to ensure the maximum amount of cash is generated for the minimum cost.

Asset Refinance

If you have any assets within the business you can look at refinancing these assets. This will mean an injection of cash however it can prove costly in terms of interest costs and you should consider the cash flow implications of the monthly repayments. If you already have asset finance facilities in place it may be worth refinancing to reduce the monthly repayments.

Remortgage

If you have a mortgage or an unencumbered property you could look to refinance this to raise money or reduce the monthly repayments.

Collect in money owed

If you have a debtor book it is important to ensure that debts are collected in on a timely basis. Your credit control skills could vastly improve your cashflow. Can you offer a settlement discount to get paid quicker?

Supplier Terms

Can you negotiate better terms from your existing suppliers or can you approach alternative suppliers with a view to obtaining extended terms?

Cost Cutting

Can you cut costs within the business by cutting out unnecessary services, insurances, staff members? You may need to make some tough decisions but you have to protect your business.

Smart Factoring Quotes are proud to announce the launched of their new and improved website.

Our aim has always been to provide business owners with a balanced view on invoice finance. The new site is more informative and we want to be the preferred source of online information for business owners looking for an invoice finance facility. We want to empower business owners to make an informed decision. That informed decision can be about choosing whether or not to use a form of invoice finance, which facility to use or which lender has offered the most competitive terms for their business.

If you are a business owner who is considering entering into an invoice finance agreement or reviewing your existing arrangements make Smart Factoring Quotes your first port of call.