Serving the Teesside Business Community | 55
Deborah Kirtley, head of
Endeavour Partnership’s
specialist business funding team.
Easy access to funding for businesses
H
eaded by Deborah Kirtley MBA,
Endeavour Partnership have formed a
dedicated team with the sole purpose
of providing specialist funding advice to
businesses – a niche legal offering in the
Teesside area.
As a business develops and grows, so
too will the need to explore the numerous
funding options available to them. This
process can often be complicated with a
wide range of possible funding types on
offer. Once the decision is made to go for
funding, our team can offer insight and
expert advice including:
• Introducing you to the right funders for
your business
• Guiding you through the funding
application process
• Implementing the right financial
structure internally
• Setting up and supporting you through
the funder’s due diligence process
• Negotiating the term sheet on your
behalf - it is not just the margin and the
lender's fees you need to consider!
Deborah is highly regarded across the
region as a banking and finance specialist
and joined Endeavour Partnership as a
Partner last year. Using her 25+ years of
experience as a banking and finance lawyer
Deborah delivers bespoke commercial legal
advice to a wide variety of businesses,
from start-ups and SMEs to large corporate
bodies.
Deborah says: “We want to help
businesses to get ahead of the funding
curve. There are plenty of funding options
available to companies whether they want
to raise funds for capital expenditure or
make strategic acquisitions.
“We like to get to know a business early
in their development so we can help match
them with the best funding for their needs”.
From her background in acting on
behalf of both lenders and borrowers,
Deborah has gained a detailed and in-depth
understanding of how participants on each
side of the fence think and operate.
“My background means I appreciate the
arguments from both sides so I know what
the borrower’s concerns will be and I can
explain them to the bank and alternatively
– if the bank appears to be digging its heels
in on a point – I can explain to the borrower
what the bank's credit issues are.”
Deborah has previously advised local,
national and international businesses,
including universities and housing
providers, in relation to their borrowing
requirements. She has also acted in many
of the region’s most complex and high-
value deals in the football, hospitality and
student accommodation sector. The team is
currently working with a host of businesses
in Teesside’s thriving tech sector.
For example, Deborah has worked with a
hotel developer client in relation to several
projects including both development
and investment. Her experience of hotel
development finance proved invaluable;
knowing what the key issues in the sector
were helped guide the client through the
process from the heads of terms stage
through to first drawdown of funds.
Deborah is keen to point out that the
perception that banks are closed for new
business in these times of uncertainty is not
the case, adding: “This is unfair. Banks have
a strict credit process; they must be more
diligent than maybe they were previously.
But for good credit and a solid proposal,
the banks are there for the region’s growing
businesses.
“We work extensively with CEOs or
FDs who even though they have financial
expertise are simply too busy to deal with
the legal funding documentation themselves,
or a business where the owner managers
are experts at their own day job, but where
finance or legal issues aren’t really within
their skillset.
“Whether you need a second opinion,
initial advice or full-scale engagement, our
team can assist.”
Endeavour Partnership is exclusively a
commercial law firm, taking its dedication
and commitment to businesses personally.
“We know what running and growing
a business is all about, so we know how
important specialist support can be,” adds
Deborah.
“We cover key areas including corporate
and commercial, commercial property,
employment law and HR, corporate recovery
and insolvency and commercial disputes.”
Celebrating its 20th year in business,
Endeavour Partnership has grown from four
founding partners looking to fill the calling of
a business-only law firm to a now 60-strong
team devoted to its clients and Teesside.