Cash is king in any business and growing businesses need cash.
A business needs working capital to grow, enabling them to buy more stock, take on more people, invest in equipment, or whatever it is they need to do to expand or trade profitably. I work with my clients to help them access the funds they need, in the best way for them, at the right time, to ensure their business can achieve its forecasts.
What is debt financing?
Debt financing is just when an organisation borrows money (generally from a bank) which has to be paid back over a number of years with interest.
I can help you secure a bank loan to enable you to invest in your business so it can flourish. I understand the parameters that banks work to and know exactly what they need in order to have confidence to invest. I will work with you to prepare detailed 5-year cash flow forecasts to provide the banks with all the supporting information they need.
Case study
Debt financing
My client, a UK manufacturing business, wanted to increase its revenues by exporting to the USA.
The business needed to fund the cash flow requirements to manufacture the product, transport it to the USA, raise the sales invoice and be paid, which was expected to take about 6 months. I worked closely with the senior management team to develop a fully integrated consolidated financial model, as well as liaising with the bank and UK Export Finance. The end result was that we secured a £4m export finance facility to support the sales growth of the business.
What’s the difference between equity and debt financing?
In simple terms, debt financing is a loan – a business borrows money, then pays it back at a later date with interest.
Whereas equity financing involves selling some of the equity, or ownership, of the company, in return for capital. There’s no additional financial burden on the company but the new investor will own a share of the company and will generally have a say in the running of the business.
Equity finance
This is better suited to fast growing businesses, those looking to acquire other companies or those who have used up all the existing sources of finance. I can identify the relevant private individuals or venture capital firms that are likely to invest, in return for an equity share in your business.
I have worked with many different companies, across a range of market sectors, to secure equity finance for them, and am experienced in providing all the relevant accounts and forecasting information these investors will demand.
My client, was a UK online retail company. The owner of the business had used a substantial portion of their own funds to develop the product and the company needed further equity funding.
I worked with the company founder to create a business plan for an equity fund raise, as well as developing a 5 year fully integrated financial model to support the business plan. We presented this to investors, and I helped to negotiate the terms of the equity investment.
We managed to secure over £1m of equity funding, on terms which avoided the founder having to substantially dilute their equity.