It is becoming increasingly common for high street banks not to offer hire purchase or finance lease facilities especially for transactions sub £50k and even sub £200k with one bank. Although your bank may offer funding for purchasing plant or machinery they are increasingly doing so by term loans. These loans are not necessarily secured against the assets being purchased but are agreed based on the trading performance of the business and security such as land already being in place. Although you may get a slightly cheaper rate than by going to an independent asset finance broker you run the possibility of tying up future lines and overexposing your business too much with one financial institution. If you can do we would recommended spreading the risk about!
Archive for the ‘Asset Finance’ Category
Bank Loan or Hire Purchase
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011Will my bank give me the best asset finance deal?
Monday, March 28th, 2011Other than a businesses own bank there are still only a few independent asset finance companies offering hire purchase and finance lease facilities. And depending upon which bank you are with you might not get offered asset finance at all. If a bank wants to deal with you then you will get some of the best deals possible. However do you really want to tie up valuable banking lines which may restrict your future ability to obtain funding. If you can get funding via a third party funder it is always advisable to spread it around a bit. You may have to jump through a few more hoops but it will certainly be worth it!
Asset Finance and CCJs
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011The fact that a business has CCJs doesn’t necessarily prevent it from obtaining asset finance, however it certainly makes it more difficult. Most high street asset finance companies such as ING Lease will not touch a business with a CCJ. XL Business Finance recognises that not all CCJs are the fault of the directors.
We are therfore regularly providing hire purchase and finance lease facilities for businesses that have CCJ registered against the business. We recognise that they picked up due to disputes with suppliers or over zealous creditors. as long as there is a credible reason then it is certainly possible to help.
Does Your Business have the XL Factor?
Monday, March 21st, 2011Does your business have the XL Factor. XL Business Finance has been helping Managing Directors and Finance Directors put the X Factor back into their business. Whether it is factoring , invoice discounting , asset finance or refinance we are fast becoming one of the UKs leading and most respected independent finance companies.
In a time when it is very difficult to obtain funding via more tradition banking facilities we go the extra mile to help you find the right funding solution. Whether you are a blue chip company requiring the best interest market or a or a company requiring funding out of an administration we provide by far and away so many options than a high street bank. Give us a call today to see how we can the XL Factor into your business!
New Start Asset Finance
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011New start asset finance and factoring facility agreed for new start direct mail business
Very brave I hear you all shout. A new start business in the current economic climate. Well with the right type of funding support greatly increases the chance of survival. It is a well known myth that businesses don’t go bust because they don’t make money but because they run out of money. How many times have we seen many businesses purchase equipment for cash and then at a later date try and refinance the kit because they have run out of money. We say time and time again that it is far easier organising the finance on the outset rather than trying to do it retrospectively.
Under the right circumstances it is always possible to organise hire purchase and leasing for a new start business. Allot obviously depends on the type of equipment and the security that it offers. Traditional assets with good residual values always provides better security than high tech equipment and are easier to finance. In addition the people behind the business are just as important and your personal circumstances will be taken into consideration.
Once you are up and running it is important that your business has adequate cash flow. Overdrafts are hard to come by for new start businesses. A factoring facility providing cash against unpaid invoices will provide a valuable working capital and a life line. In choosing your factoring company beware not all factoring companies are the same and some are better at handling new start businesses than others. Much will depend on the nature of your business , the quality of the debtor book and your geographic location.
Is Leasing cheaper than paying cash?
Thursday, February 17th, 2011There is certainly an argument for using asset finance to fund equipment. The main reason I would say, is that cash is always better in the bank than tied up in assets. “Cash is King” as they say. I have seen many cash rich companies pay cash for assets and then due to a change in circumstances wish to refinance the kit because they have run out of cash. The problem is that to refinance equipment after it has been purchased is always far more expensive!
Equipment can be purchased either by Hire Purchase or finance lease.
There is an argument to say that leasing is more tax efficient as the whole of the monthly rentals can be offset against taxable profit, Therefore the full tax allowances are obtained over the same period of the lease. It can be argued that the return on the cash left in the business is greater than the cost of the finance lease less the tax benefit. At the end of the finance lease the business continues to pay a secondary rental or can obtain title via a third party. Anywhere between one or 3 additional monthly payments will need to be paid
Hire purchase has slightly different tax treatment whereby capital allowances are claimed on a reducing balance . An option to purchase fee is paid with the final payment typically £50 to obtain clear title
As a rule of thumb most accountants would recommended equipment and hi tech assets that have a limited life span and are regularly replaced should be financed on finance lease and long life assets be funded on HP. Each customer will be different and should really speak to their own accountant to determine the best way forward.
Equipment finance in 2011
Thursday, January 27th, 2011The hire purchase and leasing market in 20011 is predicted to remain fairly tight and restrictive. There are still a few high street banks offering decent rates and there are still a few independents offering prime rates also. The fact remains that are still fewer finance companies than there were before the credit crunch.
Although there are a few finance companies entering the market. Aldermore at the beginning of 2010 and much later in the year Conniston came across the water from Isle of Man. with any new finance comapnies entering the market this is great news however there is always a bedding in period as they find their place within the market.
Asset based lending remains strong although there a fewer options than there used to be, The most obvious company being Davenham which ceased trading at the back end of 2010.
As per usual if you have a very strong balance sheet it can be relatively easy to obtain funding for asset and equipment finance. It is also relatively easy to obtain funding if you have plenty of value within your equipment. The problem arises is if you have a weak balance sheet and you need to purchase or refinance assets with very little residual value. Caught between a rock and a hard stone comes to mind.
XL Business finance has helped many businesses with their capital expenditure plans. We provide an honest and straight forward approach and always have the businesses best ineterst at mind. Give us a call today to find out how we can help you.
Refinancing Engineering Company
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011XL Business Finance has just recently completed the refinancing of a UK based Engineering Company. Managing Director Mark Redman can be seen checking ( or trying ) serial numbers on the customer’s equipment. See below for further details
XL Business Finance was approached at the beginning of the new year by the companies accountant to help a UK based Engineering company purchase new equipment for an existing project. At the same time the business wanted to future proof their cash flow and refinance their existing equipment to reduce their monthly outgoings. Although the new equipment was only £30k a refinance package including the funding of the new kit reduced their monthly repayments from £3500 per month to £2800 providing a monthly saving of £700.
XL Business Finance is one of the UK’s leading independent finance companies with over 10 years experience in the asset and asset refinance market. As with any financial market products and availability of funds vary from month to month with the various funders. The company accountant for this particular engineering company realised the added value a specialist finance company would add to their their client. XL Business Finance was able to source the right level of funding at the most competitive rates and at the same time ensure the finance company completed all the paperwork in a timely and professional manner.
In light of the newly released quarterly trading performance we are in no doubt in line for another rocky 12 months . Refinance of existing plant and machinery may just give many businesses a life line to provide enough working capital to survive until the next upturn
Attention all Car owners
Friday, January 14th, 2011Are you looking to raise cash quickly? It is now possible to organise a short term business loan offering your car as security.
If you have a luxury car which is free of finance , you can release the money or equity tied up in your car on a short term basis. This is different from a traditional refinance agreement that provides funding on a hire purchase agreement over a number of years. The finance company will take your car as security which will be stored in a secure facility.
Whilst this kind of offering will not be an option to everyone there are plenty of business owners out there that may have a second luxury toy or car. As you can imagine APRs wont be the cheapest however they never are when it comes to bespoke and creative funding. It does however provide a quick fix alternative to the bank funding which in the current climate isn’t available to everyone.
How it works. A trade value of the car is obtained from the finance company. A percentage of this trade value is is provided on a short term loan. There are no monthly repayments. Interest accrues on a monthly basis and the finance is repaid at the end of the loan agreement typically 3-6 months. This kind of lending is ideal for customers that maybe have a guaranteed lump of cashing coming to them but need something to keep them ticking over
New Finance company enters Asset Finance Market
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010One of the biggest problems a business faces today is the lack of finance companies in the asset finance market. Some of the big high street banks will provide hire purchase and leasing facilities for some of their better customers wishing to purchase capital equipment. If your bank is unwilling to support or you don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket as far as third party funders there is only one. ING Lease has probably been the only only decent third party funder operating in the asset finance market. Their rates are good however they can only be accessed via the broker network.
After ING organising funding has been slightly more difficult . Whilst ING are a great funder if for some reason they dont want to play ball the next best alternatives in comparison are far more expensive and onerous in terms of security required. Asset based lenders will only lend a percentage of the forced sale vale and their funding costs all start around 12% nominal. Alternative leasing companies willing to take a view will only lend £10k per director and will always undoubtedly require personal guarantees.
The good news is that there are one or two finance companies entering into the market. Both are pitching themselves not as competition to Ing and your own high street bank but are positioning themselves between these funders and the expensive asset based lenders.
This has been an area in the hire purchase and leasing market where there has been somewhat of a funding gap. Any business that is not quite strong enough for prime rates may have found themselves stuck in the middle of a rock and a hard stone as the kit did not meet the requirements for the pure asset based lenders. Only time will tell as to whether these new funders start to mop up these deals.
