We all need a bit of motivation at times in business, especially when things aren’t going quite as planned. Here are some of our favourite quotes:

• A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts. ~ Richard Branson
• You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. ~ Zig Ziglar
• To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart. ~ Thomas Watson, Sr.
• Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. ~ Winston Churchill
• Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. ~ John Wooden
• It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop. ~ Confucius
• You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. ~ Steve Jobs
• Quality means doing it right when no one is looking. ~Henry Ford
• The essential question is not, “How busy are you?” but “What are you busy at?” ~ Oprah Winfrey
• Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success. ~ Swami Vivekananda
• The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. ~ Vidal Sassoon
• The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it. ~ Debbi Fields
• Have a very good reason for everything you do. ~ Laurence Olivier
• Capital isn’t scarce; vision is. ~ Sam Walton

Small businesses turned down for loans from the UK’s high-street banks have received over £15 million of funding thanks to a government matchmaking scheme.
Over the past 12 months, 670 businesses have raised over £12 million of funding through the Bank Referral Scheme, four times what was raised in the previous year. Since it was introduced in November 2016, more than £15 million has been sourced for businesses across the country.

The Bank Referral Scheme requires Britain’s biggest banks to pass on the details of small businesses they have turned down for loans to online credit brokers. The brokers then help those businesses to source funding from alternative, and often smaller, lenders.

Rejected businesses are now automatically offered the opportunity to be referred to three online credit brokers: Alternative Business Funding, Funding Options and Funding Xchange.  Each platform provides access to a range of lenders and products, including business loans, revolving credit, asset finance and invoice finance.  Loans resulting from the scheme ranged from £100 to £1.3 million and the average size of a loan secured was £17,285.

Download our Guide to Revolving Credit– a facility that allows you unlock cash tied up in unpaid invoices, stock and/or work in progress (WIP).  The facility is completely independent from your existing business banking with limits of up to £3 million.

It works much like an overdraft: businesses receive a limit and they can draw down funds and make repayments as often as they like in a given month.  If you don’t use the facility there are no charges so well worth a further look.  We manage the application process on your behalf and decisions are made quickly.

Click Here to download our guide and contact us to discuss your funding requirements.

The Small Business Grants initiative from SmallBusiness.co.uk is a free-to-enter monthly competition that gives small businesses a chance to win a £5,000 grant to invest in their company’s growth. This is a private business grant and does not have to be paid back.

Eligible businesses can apply for FREE via a simple Grant Application form. Every month, a shortlist of leading entries will be sent to a panel of independent judges who will decide on the winner, considering factors such as turnover growth, innovation, aspiration, key projects completed, contracts won and partnerships forged.

To apply, click here

Businesses come in all different shapes and sizes and each has their own story. Some lenders look at the business and its financial records to asses their ability to repay the loan based only on factual information and trading history. Of course this is a very sensible tactic but sometimes a negative history is not what it seems and can often be explained. Our staff talk to lenders and explain our client’s back stories allowing the lender to make an informed decision.

After sending a loan application on behalf of a client recently we were surprised when the application was rejected by one of our usual lenders. We had provided all the information required, the company was profitable and had shown growth. It became clear that the Directors had experienced a previous liquidation and this was the reason for the rejection. We tried all our usual lenders with no luck but we didn’t give up. There was a very valid reason for the previous liquidation and we were able to explain this to one of our lenders and secured a £50,000 loan for the client.

To discuss your lending options get in touch with us.

Local Government departments and councils who have regeneration targets often meet these goals by providing grants to businesses for specific projects. The project will tackle the issue (for instance: reducing unemployment or filling empty shops) by rewarding the business in the form of a grant to employ staff or refurbish shop premises.

Although this ‘free money’ is available – it is rarely promoted because councils do not have the capacity to cope with the high demand. Therefore eligible businesses often miss out on this funding which has the opportunity to be influential to the success of their businesses.  We are experts at both searching for and applying for grants. Some of the funding currently available includes:

• £10,000 for businesses who develop digital innovation
• An award for businesses who improve communities in Greater London
• £100,000 of branding and marketing support for food businesses
• £20,000 for young entrepreneurs to develop new ideas
• Up to £50,000 for Scottish businesses that promote workplace equality
• Up to £12,000 for farmers to buy new equipment
• Up to £250,000 for businesses in Leeds for capital investment
• 21 different funding programmes for businesses in the Construction industry

There are many more grants, awards and training programmes across the UK. Contact us today to find out if there are any relevant schemes available for your organisation.

A scale-up business is recognised as a young organisation with at least 10 employees which grows by an average of 20% each year. Scale-ups are of huge importance to the UK economy providing jobs, inward investment and innovation.

However, scale-up businesses often find it difficult to source finance from mainstream funders due to a lack of trading history, asset value or limited management experience.
Grants and regional funding options exist, but many are for very early-stage development rather than growth. Bank Loans are an option for companies with solid cash flow that can support the interest payments. However, new global capital regulations designed to make banking more stable have made it harder for banks to offer large overdrafts, and so alternative options are often required by businesses looking to raise finance.

Invoice finance is a popular way for scale-up business-to-business (B2B) firms to unlock vital working capital as it grows with your business. Working capital finance options for high-growth business-to-consumer (B2C) firms are less obvious. However, a relatively new type of lender is emerging offering merchant cash advances where businesses repay a fixed percentage of revenues.
Many crowdfunding platforms exist, including equity and non-equity options. When it comes to investing in new equipment, there are plenty of options available. Asset finance, otherwise known as asset leasing or lease rental, has been around for many years and for good reason, but not everyone is aware of how it can benefit them.

Asset leasing is a tax-efficient and flexible way to purchase the equipment you need without compromising your cash flow, and is suitable for all industry sectors and any size of business. Terms are available from one to five years with only a minimal deposit required in most cases.

Ultimately, there’s no easy answer for financing a scale-up and businesses may need to share the risk and look at numerous options. It does depend on your approach to risk, your attitude to giving away part of business, and your company’s ability to finance a debt.

To see how we can help you grow your business by providing funding options to suit your needs, contact XL Business Finance today for an initial discussion.

Manchester – 0161 980 0577
London – 020 3301 4540
xlbusinessfinance.co.uk

We have for sale a ‘12’ plated DAF 105.460 6×2 Super space cab, with 625,000 kms on the clock. The truck is in very good condition and has an MOT until Feb 18.

Finance options available, please contact us for more information.

Jag Xj D V6 portfolio LWB for sale with leather seats.  85k miles

Vat qualifying

Price £15,000.

Lease and HP options available.

Contact us for more details.

Curtain sided HGV 7500 kg for sale.

Registration 2004.

108,000 km

Price on application.

Lease and HP options available.

Contact us for more details.