Making Time for Relationships in The Ever-changing world of SME Funding By Gary Cain, Director of Reach Commercial Finance

21st March 2018

Intro to key issues/trends

The importance of human interaction and interpersonal relationships are two of the two top trends set to drive the financial brokerage industry this year. That’s according to the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers.

Recognising the importance of relationships between lenders and clients is nothing new to us at Reach Commercial Finance. In fact, with our vastly experienced team, we’ve built a leading specialist brokerage business on the back of it and the trust that it engenders.

We make sure we fully understand clients’ requirements from the outset and that we’re close to funders. The strength of these relationships gives us, as independent advisers, the time and ability to find the most appropriate solutions – of which we have many options to choose from, due to our wealth of expertise and contacts.

At a time when brokers must diversify their offerings to meet much wider financing needs – another prominent prediction by the trade body’s news article – within an increasingly fast-paced and ever-changing environment, it becomes even clearer why strong interpersonal relationships and contacts are so very crucial.

Access to funding

SME access to funding to help them grow is more important than ever. They are the lifeblood of the UK economy – contributing more than £200 billion a year. Raising SME output and productivity is critical to achieve growth of almost 20 per cent to £240 billion by 2025.

Companies looking to expand – whether they want to access new markets, increase production capacity or acquire competitors – invariably need to look for external finance to help them realise their ambitions. To ensure that they receive the best finance options for their business, it’s recommended to partner with a specialist professional. This saves them time, hassle and potentially unwise deals.

Alternative finance

While mainstream banks dominate in terms of the overall volume of small business lending, the amount of finance secured by SMEs from the alternative finance market has increased in recent years – a trend that looks set to underpin SME sector growth.

At Reach Commercial Finance, products such as invoice finance, asset finance, property finance and cash flow loans are becoming increasingly popular – as well as becoming more deeply integrated into the UK’s SME lending infrastructure.

A business based on trust

As a commercial finance broker helping SMEs to overcome what are critical hurdles, our business is built on trust. The clients and lenders we work with trust our knowledge and connections to secure the most flexible deals at the most cost-effective rate.

How we work

We’ve always invested a great deal of time at the outset to ensure we fully understand clients’ issues. It’s an approach that sets us apart from the majority of intermediaries out there. We don’t just issue a name and a number to a funder. Instead, we take the time to truly get to know clients and lenders so we’re able to find the most appropriate solutions – reducing overall time and effort to reach a successful outcome. With this approach, we continue to add value and expand relationships by continuously evaluating client portfolios and industry statistics.

By thoroughly analysing client requirements – and being a trusted connection between borrowers and lenders – we ensure that the best links are made between the two. That’s how we have completed over 500 transactions and raised more than £250 million in finance over the last three years alone.

To find out more about our approach to securing lending for SMEs, click here.

For testimonials from some of our clients and partner lenders, click here.

About the Lifecycle network

Lifecycle is a unique network for accountants – provided by the Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group (LCBSG).

It provides member accountants with a comprehensive range of specialist services – and the expert support required – to improve their client offering at every stage of a business’ lifecycle. From company formation to cessation and all stages in between.

Lifecycle is free to join and also offers members many additional benefits. These include access to a competitive Professional Indemnity insurance scheme, a regular programme of free training and education and discounts on products and services relevant to their business and clients’ needs.

Services offered by Lifecycle include: Company secretarial and formationequity finance for SMEsdebt advisory for SMEspersonal debt advicecorporate restructuring, insolvency and cessationdebt finance for SMEscashflow maximisationproperty solutions and legal services.

For more information on Lifecycle click here.

ENDS –

For further media information, please contact Karen Winstanley or Sue Souter at Souter PR on 01625 839 319 or email sue@souterpr.co.uk / karen@souterpr.co.uk

03300 242 3333