Tag: Asset Finance Companies (page 4 of 5)

Mixed Results For Asset Finance

26th April 2018 / admin / Comments Off

Following several consecutive months of growth, the latest figures released by the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) reveal mixed news for the asset finance market in the 12 months to February 2018.

The two sectors that have performed strongly according to the latest data are Plant and Machinery Finance and IT equipment. The former saw a 5% increase in asset finance while the latter saw a 13% increase suggesting these sectors are more willing to explore alternative sources of finance in the current economic climate. The same can be said for the manufacturing and the agricultural and construction sectors.

Two sectors that have not performed well in the 12 months to February are commercial vehicle and surprisingly business equipment which had seen growth up until this point. Commercial vehicle finance saw a 5% drop while business equipment saw a 20% fall.

Despite these mixed results, the underlying health of the asset finance sector remains strong and continues to offer businesses a less risky alternative to banks loans and other traditional forms of lending.

If you would like to find out more information on how asset finance could help with your own business investment, contact us today for advice.

Small Businesses Moving Away From Bank Lending

22nd March 2018 / admin / Comments Off

According to a recent report in the Financial Times, small businesses are increasingly likely to be looking to specialist lenders they are finding online.

The article reports that the chief executive of the British Business Bank saw evidence that small business owners exercising all their options when it comes to lending which includes anything from asset finance to peer to peer lending and venture capital.

Fear of getting turned down by banks has been given as one of the main reasons for the movement towards alternative finance while the number of businesses applying for bank loans has remained flat.

As with retail, there is a quiet revolution taking place where business owners have followed consumers online and to what they perceive as better deals.

Taking on a business loan from a bank is seen as risky compared to asset finance, which is comparatively less risky and allows business owners to use their existing assets to free up cash or boost cash flow.

According to the recent report asset finance lending increased by 12% last year while peer to peer lending increased by 51%. Equity investments meanwhile increased by 79%.

If you would like to find out more about how asset finance can help your business, then give us a call today.

Business Confidence On The Rise

27th February 2018 / admin / Comments Off

Analysis from several financial services firms of business confidence levels points towards an improving picture. Businesses are said to be more optimistic about future growth although they are still cautious about the year ahead.

The rise in confidence levels at the start of this year brings a halt to months of decline and has perhaps been buoyed by news of a strengthening pound and the prospect of Brexit not being as bad for the economy as everyone expected.

While businesses have plans to invest in the future, it is also true that bank lending to businesses fell by £1bn during the month of December 2017. Loans to businesses in the SMEs sector saw a significant drop too falling at their fastest for three years.

Alternative finance, meanwhile, has been the sector to benefit from the continuing sense of caution with businesses reluctant to take on new debts to fund any expansion plans they may have.

Asset finance takes away some of the risk involved in borrowing from banks and allows a business to use its assets to access funding.

Business that rely on importing and exporting into the EU will be watching closely to see what happens over the next 12 months and it is unlikely the mood of caution will be lifted during this period.

Asset Finance For Small Business – What Are the Options?

18th December 2017 / admin / Comments Off

We often hear from small business owners who are unaware of their options when it comes to asset finance. This is understandable as awareness of asset finance as an alternative to bank loans is still low compared to traditional routes such as going to the bank.

Going to the bank for a business loan, however, can be a laborious process with the real possibility that you will be turned down if the bank feels your small business doesn’t fit strict criteria. Asset finance can offer an alternative in these cases if the business model is sound and your company already has assets which can be used as security.

With this in mind here are the main asset finance options:

Hire purchase
This involves purchasing an asset and spreading the payments over a period of time. The disadvantage is it means you will end up paying more for the asset.

Equipment leasing
This involves renting a vehicle such as a van or another piece of equipment important to the business. Again the cost of the equipment can be spread over a set period, sometimes with the option to buy at the end or continue paying monthly and upgrade to the latest vehicle or piece of equipment.

Asset refinance
This allows you to use your existing assets to raise cash. This usually comes in the form of a loan which releases equity from your asset. This is ideal if a business is rich in terms of assets but needs to protect cashflow. The downside is the lender can seize the asset if you don’t keep up the payments.

Is Now A Good Time To Invest In Your Business?

10th November 2017 / admin / Comments Off

As another year reaches a conclusion, you may be thinking about what the new year will bring as most business owners are. This coming year things are predicted to be less certain than they have been for several years so is now a good or bad to time to be thinking about investing?

A lot will depend on the sector your business operates in. Each sector will have its winners and losers as a result of Brexit but recent positive news coming from the manufacturing sector shows that there has been some benefit from the fall in the value of the pound.

This makes the UK’s exports cheaper and attracts higher levels of demand. The growth picture for the economy as a whole however is not quite so rosy with growth slowing down even though unemployment levels are at their lowest since the 1970s.

The conclusion to be drawn from all this is that we rarely see all the balls in alignment when it comes to economies so paying too much attention to bad news can discourage investment at just the time when it is needed.

Many people were predicting a slump following the results of the EU referendum but this hasn’t materialised – at least not to anything like the degree anticipated. If you are a business owner looking to play safe and invest, then asset finance may be the option to get the best of both worlds by protecting your cashflow and making the most of your assets to fund growth next year.

Increased Demand Predicted For UK Business Finance Scheme

10th October 2017 / admin / Comments Off

According to statistics 71% of business owners will only try one lender when seeking finance for their business. This means that many of those businesses could be missing out on potential sources of alternative finance.

A government scheme introduced in November last year hopes to solve this problem for business through a bank referral scheme. The scheme encourages banks to pass on the details of applicants who failed to secure funding to alternative providers.

This effectively gives those businesses a second chance to secure alternative finance and it appears a growing number of those businesses are benefiting as a result. More than 8,000 businesses were referred via the scheme in the first 9 months following its introduction. It has to be said, however, this still represents only a small minority of the 50,000 businesses turned down for loans each year in the UK.

The availability of finance for businesses to fund growth and expansion is extremely important to the UK economy and any initiative which provides more options to businesses to secure that funding can only be good news.
The key to the success of these schemes is awareness and by encouraging the banks themselves to help in the process, the whole process for SMEs is set to become a lot less daunting for SMEs.

Some SMEs Remain Cautious on Seeking Funding

12th September 2017 / admin / Comments Off

While the asset finance sector continues to grow as a source of funding for SMEs, businesses remain hesitant to take advantage of this and other funding options stifling their ability to grow.

This conclusion was drawn after one survey found that more than a third of SME business owners look to avoid borrowing money at any cost.

Asset finance for new business grew six percent year on year in the month of July in deals of up to 20 million. Overall, however, new business fell when higher value deals were taken into account indicating the reluctance to borrow mainly affects the owners of businesses in need of higher than average levels of funding.

The figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) did report a more positive trend on the plant and machinery sector with new business rising 20% year on year in the month of July.

The findings show that asset finance remains a vital part of the funding needed to support businesses and in turn the UK economy. The British Chamber of Commerce this month painted a gloomy picture of the UK’s economic prospects Vs the Eurozone.

This only increases the importance of the contribution made by the asset finance industry to future prosperity following Brexit.

SME Business Savings Fall

12th August 2017 / admin / Comments Off

SME business savings have fallen overall according to a recent study, however some sectors have seen savings increase.

Ahead of economic uncertainty and news that house price growth is stalling around the UK, it is perhaps surprising to hear that businesses are putting away less in business savings accounts.

Compared to last year, SME businesses are putting away 20% less over all according to research from the Hampshire Trust Bank. The average amount held in savings accounts by SMEs is currently £446,000 which is some way below the £556,000 recorded in 2016.

So is it a case of businesses digging into their savings more this year? There was nothing highlighted to suggest this was the case and in the IT and communications sector the opposite was true and firms were putting more away in savings with an increase of 5% overall on 2016. This was however the exception with charities and accountancy firms having 39% and 69% less held in savings respectively.

IT firms were said to be building average cash buffers of £843,000 putting among the biggest savers of all SME businesses.

The study indicates the need for business owners to understand the importance of protecting their businesses against economic uncertainty but it is also important to ensure that the best returns are made on those savings by shopping around for the best rates.

Dangers Exist On the Horizon For Many UK SMEs

10th July 2017 / admin / Comments Off

Unstable government, rising inflation and skills shortages are just some of the challenges facing SMEs this summer and beyond as the economic climate begins to look more than a little unstable of late.

Even so most SME owners seem to be decidedly buoyant about their prospects with and optimistic 54% thinking there will be no impact on their business from Brexit. One in five of those who expect and impact meanwhile have a plan in place to combat any future effects. At least these were the findings in a survey recently conducted by AIB of 1,327 SMEs.

This optimism clearly goes with the territory for ambitious business owners who are on the whole positive thinkers. The hope is that things will turn out ok for everyone and we can all carry on as before but it doesn’t hurt to plan for any eventualities as you would do for any business.

Asset finance is an ideal way to raise funds for your business and even better when things are going well. Business owners often turn to asset finance as a last resort when they are rejected by banks or other lenders when the opposite should be the case.

Strong Growth For Asset Finance in Q1 2017

10th June 2017 / admin / Comments Off

Economic forecasts may have been gloomy in the first quarter of this year but the Asset finance market appears to be bucking the trend with promising results for asset finance new business in Q1 2017.

According to the latest data released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) new business in the sector increased by 9% overall in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year.

The results show that more and more businesses are continuing to opt for asset finance over other sources of finance to invest in new equipment and machinery.

Results from the agricultural and construction sectors were even more encouraging with the former seeing growth of 43% and the latter seeing 23% compared to the same period a year ago.

While new business growth for asset finance in business equipment was less impressive at 2% it still indicates that growth is strong overall and asset finance growth is not just confined to the agriculture and construction industries.

Economists say this quarter’s strong results matched improved expectations for business investment in the Bank of England’s May inflation report.

If you would like to find out how asset finance can help your business contact us today.

Clarity Needed On Diesel Cars…

11th May 2017 / admin / Comments Off

…To Prevent Uncertainty Over Asset Values

Diesel cars have enjoyed a long period of high residual values but this appears to be coming to an end as the government toys with the idea of how to reduce levels of harmful pollutants.

This has led to calls for clarity in areas such as a potential scrappage scheme for older diesel cars and possible restrictions on where diesel cars are allowed to go in city centres.

The future of diesel is currently under threat not only from the rise of electric cars which enjoy considerable tax benefits but even petrol engine cars. The latter once demonised as the primary polluters of the atmosphere and for comparative inefficiency have evolved to become much more economical than in the past. Pollution from petrol cars has also been found to produce less of the particularly harmful substances found in diesel emissions.

All of this of course will affect the value of older diesel cars and possibly a knock-on effect on newer models. The emissions scandal that has recently rocked Volkswagen and continues to rumble on will have done little to inspire confidence.

Continued speculation over which cars a potential scrappage scheme will apply to and when to will also cause uncertainty in the used car market as people start to wonder how much their cars are actually worth.

Is Asset Finance An Option For Startups?

11th April 2017 / admin / Comments Off

Asset finance is often seen as something a more mature business might consider when they are looking to grow and expand, however it can be just as useful for a startup needing that extra boost to get things off the ground.

Another reason asset finance can be good for a startup is the relative ease with which it can be sourced compared to raising money from other sources. Raising money from the bank for an unproven startup can be a difficult task yet there is still that need to establish a solid financial platform to enable the business to survive.

Asset finance is available in many forms including leasing hire purchase, refinance and specialist funding. What all these different forms of asset finance have in common is they protect your cashflow.

Lack of cashflow coupled with unmanageable debt is a recipe for disaster in a business and if you have a business that may rely on one or two big clients, then you may be vulnerable if one or both decides to pull the plug.

Asset finance will at least enable you to spread the cost of borrowing over a longer period to protect your cashflow and continue to grow your business.

Why SMEs Need Asset Finance More Than Ever In 2017

6th March 2017 / admin / Comments Off

If anyone had a crystal ball back in June 2016, it is unlikely they would have been expecting to see strong UK economic growth by the end of the year.

Fortunately despite a steep drop in the value of GBP and its continuing weakness, the UK economy has been surprisingly robust, confounding the expectations of analysts.

While this is welcome news for most of us, strong economic growth can be something of a double edged sword for SMEs. On the one hand there is the potential to grow the business and take advantage of the positive economic environment.

On the other there is the need to maintain the balance of cashflow and investment in the business. The cost of a sudden increase in new orders can put pressure on cashflow unless business owners can ease this problem with finance.

A range of finance options will be on the table for companies that find themselves in this position but one of the more sensible options is asset finance.

Asset finance can help business owners grow their businesses with fixed periodic payments rather commit upfront cash or apply for an overdraft from the bank.

Why You Should Never Be Too Busy For A Business Plan?

14th February 2017 / admin / Comments Off

If there is one thing that sets apart businesses that succeed from those that fail, it’s a business plan, which is why it’s surprising to find that even some medium sized businesses don’t seem to have one.

Even Donald Trump has a plan even if at times it seems that he doesn’t and it is often when we look back on progress that we see how important those plans were in achieving things.

Without going into the old fail to plan, plan to fail mantra a business plan should include goals that everyone within an organisation is will work towards. It will also include steps on how to achieve those goals based on a realistic assessment of what can be achieved with available resources.

Running a company as any business owner will tell you takes a significant amount of time and effort and planning ahead is often seen as a luxury that is sacrificed to short term needs such as production and chasing payments.

A business can soon get stuck in a rut without planning to the point where it stops growing and things simply chug along. This can be a dangerous time. All businesses need a steady flow of new customers to be healthy.

Acquiring those customers can be difficult of course but a plan will allow you to make an accurate assessment of the resources you need to get them. It might also bring you to the question of finance or how existing assets can be used to finance expansion.

5 Steps To Producing An Accurate Forecast For Your Business

13th January 2017 / admin / Comments Off

Regardless of how large or small your business is, accurate forecasting for the year ahead is critical to maintaining healthy cash flow. Reduced cash flow is the most common reason for business failure, so being realistic about the sales you expect to make and the profit that will be generated from these sales is vital.

Here are our top tips on producing an accurate forecast.

Be realistic
Many business owners find themselves living in a fantasy world when it comes to forecasting. They only consider the best case scenario when investing in new ventures for example and fail to consider what happens if that venture fails to make a profit. Business costs can certainly rocket and there is often no guarantee that doubling advertising spend will lead to a doubling of sales.

Consider possible economic impacts
This year we are more likely to see inflation rise due to the falling value of the pound against other major currencies as well as the start of Britain’s exit from the EU. Ensure that your business is prepared for any shocks that might come in the next 12 months.

Consider seasonal demand fluctuations
If for example you own a retail business that sells winter sports equipment, then your busiest times of the year are unlikely to be the summer months. Take into account seasonal demand with your seasonal forecasting if your business relies on it.

Make sure you differentiate between the income your make and your costs
Not every business gets paid monthly, sometimes payment terms may be up to 90 days which means a long wait for money. The opposite may be true if you purchase equipment for your business on credit and the bill doesn’t arrive until the following month, putting your business under possible financial pressure.

Consider asset finance for your business
Asset finance can help you boost cash flow at vital times and ensure your forecasting remains positive for the year ahead.