Refurbishment of Estate Agency Offices
We had an estate agent business approach us, who had 5 outlets in North London and wanted to fund £100K to refurbish and modernise their offices. It was a partnership where one partner had recently been paid off and left the business, so the financials were not strong enough to raise money on, effectively, a ‘soft asset’ deal/re-fit. However, in our discussions with the owner of the business, it transpired that all the sales force had company cars that were paid for. The owner himself had a Mercedes that was also paid for. So we were able to do a relatively easy re-finance deal and raise £100K on the cars. This was more or less self-secured against hard assets, so there was no need for any additional security. The client then used the funds to refurbish his 5 offices. A great solution, on which the rate would also have been lower, as hard asset funding, by its very nature, attracts lower funding rates.
Machinery Purchase in Eastern Europe
Another client was buying some £150K of machinery for a factory they had set up in Eastern Europe. They knew they could not fund the asset over there, so wanted us to find them a solution in the UK. We visited their UK factory and found a mixture of assets including: A printing press, vertical saws and a number of cars and vans. All of which were unencumbered on finance. These goods were then re-financed and the customer raised the £150K required to make the capital purchase they needed for their Polish factory.
Business Acquisition
A haulage company we dealt with, wished to buy out another business. They had approached their clearing bank and been told ‘we do not offer funding for acquisition’. We then arranged a re-finance on £450K of used trucks they owned, to enable them to buy out the other company and expand their business.
Working Barges
Another client was struggling to fund 3 bespoke barges being manufactured in Holland, which they needed for a contract to move waste material up the Thames. As they were bespoke vessels, most marine funders were unable to assist. We offered them a facility, whereby re-financing some trucks and plant they owned, they could generate the required £450K.
General Re-fits/Refurbishments
In terms of factory refurbishment, we do a lot of these deals which may entail shelving, racking and modernisation, which is often difficult for a business to fund. However, it is relatively easy to release capital they have tied up in hard assets. This is one of the great advantages of our business model and ‘know your customer’ policy. As we are actually out there in the field visiting the clients, we get to understand their businesses so much better. At this time the customer may mention they have just bought another industrial unit they wish to develop and so on. We then discuss how they are planning to fund it and often re-finance, is the best solution.