Love or hate them pe organised administrations or prepacks are an inevitable part of the economy today. In theory they sound great. Dump the old company together with all the old debt ( mainly crown arrears) , buy the business back off the administrator and start a fresh with a new meaner and leaner phoenix company. It has been well documented that obtaining  cash flow finance such as factoring or invoice discounting can be relatively straight forward however it may not be so simple in transferring existing hie purchase and leasing facilities from the old co into the new co.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the face of it one invoice discounting is the same as another invoice discounting company. For the majority of businesses this probably the case. However as mentioned on previous blogs all finance companies have their own sweet spots and this includes the total exposure they will go to or one company or in other words the total amount of funds out. If you find that your invoice discounting or factoring company is restricting your overall credit limit then t might be time to seek an alternative view point. As one of the UK’s  leading invoice finance brokers we believe we are well placed and qualified to help you with such matters.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the last  month or so a new asset funder has entered the broker market providing a much needed alternative to ING  Lease. Aldermore Bank have entered the  asset finance market as a direct competitor or alternative to ING.

Read the rest of this entry »

Without a doubt invoice financing is still the most buoyant and flexible form of business finance today. However there are so many different invoice financing companies and products  to choose from how can you be sure that you are using the most appropriate and best value funder for your business. Luckily XL Business finance has been helping businesses for over ten years to choose the most appropriate funder.

Read the rest of this entry »

It is possible to refinance existing plant and machinery in order to release cash for any purpose ( within reason ) Provided there is equity within your plant and machinery there are a number of finance companies that will advance cash via  a sale and lease back or sale and hire purchase back agreements. And provided your business isnt on the verge of going bust you can release cash for most purposes including providing a deposit for a new machine , paying crown arrears of provided working capital to nge better payment terms with your suppliers

Read the rest of this entry »

As you will gather if you care to read through any of blogs that this is a favourite subject of mine. And for good reason too. We have seen a number of what looked like very strong businesses fall foul to the banks in terms of having too many eggs in one basket. Although the banks will never publicly admit there appears still to be a tendency to call in their security if they think they have half a chance of clearing their debt. A bank that has a debenture over the business can appoint an administrator at any point they wish to do so. And how do they obtain a debenture. well you would normally give it when you take out an overdraft. Just one of those documents that they slip under your nose when signing all the other paperwork. Overdrafts are always repayable on demand and for this reason we believe that any form of invoice finance is a far better alternative.

Read the rest of this entry »

Again Invoice financing is a generic term for factoring and invoice discounting all of which provide funding against your unpaid debtor book. Because invoice financing is secured against your debtor book it is a very flexible form of finance that grows with your business. It is fast becoming the first choice cash flow facility for many businesses replacing bank overdrafts which by comparison are restrictive in terms of proving cash and onerous in terms of security and flexibility.

Read the rest of this entry »

Invoice Finance is the means of obtaining cash against unpaid invoices. More and more debtors or customers require up to ninety days credit terms in order to pay for their goods and services. Invoice finance provides up to 80% of these invoices immediately providing a valuable working capital facility.

Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to organising a factoring facility there are basicLly two choices a bNk owned factoring compnay is a decision of the bank but as we know the banks try and be all things to all men And they don’t necessarily five the best service. A independent factoring company is a business set up independently from the banks and they usually specialise in factoring alone and As such their service is second to non.
FActoring is all about adding value in terms of providing the most possible cash against your unpaid invoices. It is also about collecting your cash within 90 days in the most efficient and professional manner.
Therefore cheapest is not always best. There is Absolutely no point going with the cheapest quote if that particular finder cannot get the cash through the door . For example a number of bank operated factoring companies will only telephone your top ten customers and leave the rest to chance or to letter.
At XL Business finAnce we have plenty of experience in pointing our customers in the right direction. We would recommend no more than two or three ompanoes that will best suit your particular requirement. The companies that we recommend will be selected based on your location, turnover, quality of debtor book, length of time trading and profitability. Our recommends will be very similar in terms of business they are looking for but it will come down to personalities as go which one you choose. As soon as you start seeing more than two or three companies they will not all take you seriously and as such you may not end up with the best possible deal.

During the  last week we received an enquiry via our website from a furniture manufacture needing to refinance some existing equipment to provide cash for working capital. Unfortunately the age of the kit meant that the value for refinancing purposes was very low and would nit provide enough cash. On digging a bit deeper it transpires that the customer had been told that they could not use factoring or invoice discounting and as such was struggling for working capital. Businesses which are involved in the construction industry or any other contractual business  obtain payment upon application of work to date rather than by invoice. Whilst non of the high street banks are able to fund such applications the good news is that are one or two factoring companies that can indeed fund these applications. They have their own in house surveyors that have experience in all industries and they can verify that the applications are reasonable and accurate.

Read the rest of this entry »