Business Funding: Unsecured Business Loan

Location – Southwest

Finance Amount: £100,000

Background

A film production based in the Southwest of the UK was introduced to Pinnacle as they required funding to support cash flow and repay debts which they had suffered over previous years. They had mounted up supplier and rent arrears, partly down to Covid coupled with a slight downturn in turnover.

Solution

When the client approached the broker at Pinnacle, he felt that it was a long shot that someone was going to give him a loan for his business. He was acutely aware the numbers weren’t looking great however believed he has solid foundations to build and bounce back on. We spoke through how and why he had come into this position and the steps he had taken already before speaking to his finance broker at Pinnacle.

He advised the bank and unfortunately declined his business loan application, and this meant that without a loan or some form of funding, cash-flow was going to be very tight over the next 12 months.

The broker at Pinnacle asked if he had any projections or a cash flow forecast, he could share which fortunately he had already completed. This was fantastic news as he knew his outgoings each month and more importantly the amount he needed as a business loan. The broker reviewed this for the client and built a loan application based on his future cash flow projections for the business.

The loan was based of his projections for the business and historic performance before the slight downturn in business. This meant the unsecured loan was spread over 5 years with the option to repay the loan early, with no early repayment fees. This gave the client the flexibility of funding through the unsecured loan whilst having the benefit of the funding in the short term.

Business Funding: Invoice Discounting, Asset Finance and Unsecured Business Loan

Location – Birmingham

Finance Amount: £550,000

Background

The client was put in contact with us at Pinnacle Business Finance as they were looking to purchase a steel fabricating business based in the Midlands. They had been speaking to the business broker and identified this Steel Fabricator as a business they wanted to buy. However, they were unsure how to finance the business acquisition as they had never bought a business before. The business was well established, and the owner was looking to retire therefore wanted to sell. It has been independently valued and now the client was looking to purchase it through a leveraged buyout.

Solution

When we spoke to the client who was looking to buy the business, they advised they had had senior positions in similar businesses before. In addition to this, they had capital to put into the deal themselves, all be it a smaller amount. This meant we could draw on their experience of running similar businesses before along with making a financial commitment. After initially discussing the Steel Fabricating business in question at length, we reviewed the financial performance.

We quickly identified we could utilise invoice finance and asset finance to leverage against so, the purchaser could raise enough capital to reach the day 1 payment. Invoice discounting was implemented on a confidential basis along with financing against the machinery held in the factory. Once the cash-flow forecast showed how the repayments would be hit based on future projections along with historic performance we were able to put forward a funding application to acquire the business for our client.

We compared various invoice finance companies along with asset finance companies to ensure the client was getting the best finance possible. We managed to negotiate a funding package through an ABL (Asset Backed Lender) who could provide all the funding in one place.

The client therefore successfully bought the business and after 12 months had enough profit within the business to repay themselves from the funding, they originally put in.

Business Funding: Merchant Cash Advance

Location –Bristol

Finance Amount: £65,000

Background

A well-known restaurant in Bristol approached Pinnacle Business Finance for cash flow funding which they required quickly. This was because they needed to invest in the business to pay weekly pay roll due to continual recruitment. Recently they experienced a change of kitchen staff and had to replace these key members of staff through a recruitment agency. This meant they had a temporary dip in cash-flow and required funding to pay weekly pay roll along with supplier costs.

Solution

When the client initially got in touch with us at Pinnacle Business Finance we spoke around his future projections for the restaurant, along with the circumstances which led to the cash-flow pressures. It was prevalent that short term cash flow loan was required to boost the businesses cash flow. As they were an B2C business which took a lot of card payments, merchant cash-advance was a feasible funding solution for them. This was because turnover increased and decreased each month dependent on the level of trade. It was difficult for them to forecast the cash-flow each month and merchant cash advance was a low-risk finance solution for them. During the busier times of the year, they made higher repayments towards the cash flow loan and when it was quitter they paid back less. This maintained cash-flow and allowed them to hit the weekly pay roll as the merchant cash advance loan was implemented in under 2 working days.

The client has gone onto top up their merchant cash advance funding 4 more times because they have found it to be a quick and easy cash flow solution for their business.

Business Funding: Invoice Discounting

Location: London

Finance Amount: £750,000

Background

A healthcare recruitment agency based in London was struggling with cash-flow because they worked with local councils and authorities. They placed healthcare workers into hospitals and nursing homes. They had large amounts of outstanding invoices which took on average 45 – 60 days to be paid. On top of this they were paying their agency workers on a weekly basis. This meant there was a cash-flow gap between invoicing and getting paid. They had previously used invoice factoring, although it became expensive for them. They approached us, Pinnacle Business Finance, to find a solution to support the cash-flow within their business whilst maintaining control within their business.

Solution

After we spoke to the healthcare agency business owner, we quickly identified they were under time constraints to find a solution quickly and required a cash flow boost. We spoke through different funding options. They advised they had previously used factoring when they were a new start business. This helped them to grow, although it became expensive as turnover increased.

When we costed out the difference between a business loan and invoice discounting this allowed us to identify invoice discounting was the lowest cost and the most financially viable option. We collated the information from the client and compared the invoice discounting finance options to ensure they were getting the best invoice discounting facility possible.

The invoice discounting facility was set up for them and released over £500,000 on day 1 which they used to continue to grow the business. This took away the cash flow pressures of waiting to get paid from outstanding invoices and allowed them to concentrate on increasing turnover and profitability.