fs
When did you last
benchmark your funding?
Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions
With the economy on the mend, it’s important for businesses to ensure their funding facilities are
providing the means to seize any opportunities that arise. Managing Director of Hilton-Baird Financial
Solutions, Evette Orams, explains why it’s important that your business has the optimum facility in place.
The commercial finance landscape is radically different
today when compared to even just a few years ago. In fact,
it continues to evolve on a daily basis with no shortage
of lending statistics being released that show contrasting
stories.
Much has of course been made about the alarming – and
ongoing – lack of availability of traditional bank finance.
Despite a number of initiatives and efforts to reverse this
trend, net lending to UK businesses has fallen by an almost
unbelievable £56 billion since May 2010. Taken in isolation,
business owners would almost be forgiven for giving up
on external funding sources. However, the emergence of
other funding methods means that those who have could be
missing out.
The importance of benchmarking
When was the last time that you benchmarked your existing
funding facilities? Our SME Trends Index, which surveys
business owners and finance directors on an annual basis,
found that one in three haven’t done so inside the past six
months. But even if you have, it’s always prudent to keep an
ear to the ground.
Crucially, benchmarking shouldn’t be about cost as that in
itself would be a false economy. Instead, consider whether
your finance arrangements are providing the required level
of service, how well they suit your business and whether
the amount of funding they provide is adequate for your
requirements and objectives. It should be about the value
added to your business.
The wider picture
Whether to solve the cash flow challenges or to take advantage
of the opportunities that arise, many businesses are still
on the lookout for new funding that will complement their
existing facilities. While enquiries regarding an overdraft or
bank loan can nowadays often draw a blank, those prepared
to look beyond the norm are regularly yielding better results
– and ultimately a more beneficial facility.
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Take invoice finance as an example. In stark contrast to
traditional lending, the asset based finance sector has posted
a record-breaking quarter at the end of 2013, with funders
advancing more money to their clients in a three-month
period than ever before. Suitable for the majority of industries
trading on credit terms
- and in particular
Why use a finance broker?
manufacturing, haulage,
• Expert knowledge
recruitment and printing
• Saves you time and
- the asset based finance
resource
sector is supplying vital
• Their independence
support to more than
• Access to key decision
43,000 businesses in
makers
the UK, a number which
continues to rise.
Don’t compromise
Whether your business is looking for additional funding or to
undertake a simple benchmarking exercise, a broker can add
value. By objectively gaining insight into your requirements
and objectives, an independent broker can introduce the
most suitable facilities on the market from the funder that
matches your expectations.
Hilton-Baird Financial Solutions has more than 17 years’
experience at matching businesses’ funding needs with their
ideal facility. Independent of any funding organisation, this
ensures that our matchmaking process will put you in touch
with the most suitable funding options.
Ask yourself this: What could my business achieve with
the right funding in place?
0800 9774833
[email protected]
www.hiltonbaird.co.uk/fs
powering partnerships
29/08/2014 11:44
21/03/2014 16:07:49