Summer Newsletter
Further to our communication in April we continue to be inundated with diverse asset funding requests, from straight forward purchases to restructuring existing facilities and supporting larger projects. As the economic outlook continues to be positive we are witnessing a direct impact of that through a variety of clients.
Ernst & Young (EY Item Club) chief economist Mark Gregory reported in July that economic activity accelerated at the start of the 3rd quarter 2014, subsequently raising its forecast for growth to 3.1% this year spurred by strong capital investment by businesses. It is also anticipated that the UK economy will grow faster than any other G7 economy in 2014.
As a result of the increase in demand our panel of funders remain supportive through extremly competitive rates and flexible underwriting criteria. Our turnaround times remain unrivalled coupled with our main focus of strong relationships with our clients, which we maintain is absolutely key. Whilst many of the high street banks remain in some cases unnecessarily cautious our lenders will take a pragmatic view supported by a sensible proposal.
Our overall lending volumes have increased by 20% year on year, please find our deal summary below:
Deal Summary
We feel it is beneficial to share with you real life examples of funding facilities we secure on a daily basis, as you will see they vary in type and business sector demonstrating the flexibility of our capabilities.
New Start Print Services Company…..
Affinity were contacted by the Directors of a new start printing company which required over £140k of finance to purchase the machinery needed. The equipment was clearly a critical element of the business and without it the operation of the business and fulfilment of newly awarded contracts would not be possible.
After an initial appraisal to gain an understanding of the business, Affinity were able to identify a range of potential options to secure a competitive funding package across a number of funders. Typically a business with no trading history or proof of repayment serviceability can struggle to obtain funding but due to a combination of our comprehensive funding panel and many years of funding experience we were able to secure a competitive package in just a few days.
The equipment will delivered on site and operational by the end of August and Affinity are proud to support yet another new start SME.
Established National Plant Hire Business….
We have known the client for a number of years and due to the historical relationship, their Bank supported all their asset finance needs – purchases typically totalled several million pounds.
On this occasion we received an urgent request from the client for over £900k of funding and it transpired the urgency was a result of their Bank declining to support the facility as they were 'full' and had no appetite for further support, this news was delivered to the client at the last minute and put the client in a very awkward position with the suppliers.
Affinity not only secured funding at a completive rate for this tranche but also secured future funding lines for further purchases.
Courtesy Car Hire business……
Affinity were approached in 2010 to fund a number of courtesy vehicles for this newly established business and have secured a variety of competitive funding packages over the last 4 years. Since then the client has had growth aspirations which Affinity have been proud to support and we have just completed on the latest delivery of 14 vehicles.
Through a combination of Affinity's extensive panel of funders and knowledge and understanding of asset funding we are looking forward at a further significant investment by the client taking them into a fleet size of over 100 upwards and enabling them to take on further business.
WATCH THIS SPACE….Affinity Entered into 'Leading Advisor 2014 Award' in The Family Business Awards – http://www.familybusinessawards.co.uk
We have been entered into the above event taking place at Nottingham Trent University in November, under the category of leading advisor. As we work closely with several family businesses and owner managed operations, we are passionate about supporting their growth through funding. We hope this will be a great opportunity to showcase our abilities, an announcement will be made at the end of August regarding shortlisted finalists and will keep you posted on our progress.