BUSINESS Finance Services recently held another in its successful series of seminars on Negotiating the Financial Maze.
These free events are aimed at introducing owners and managers of SMEs to the various alternative types and sources of funding that are available to businesses these days.
One of the primary reasons for this is that, with the main banks still being unable to offer finance to any but the strongest SMEs, i.e. those with significant assets, a strong balance sheet and a record of consistent profits, a significant number of the so-called ‘alternative’ sources of commercial finance have appeared on the scene to provide the finance that otherwise would not be available to many SMEs.
Indeed, demand for these alternatives has reached such a level that a very large number of finance providers, from venture capitalists to the main banks themselves (through proxy lenders) are offering funding of a very broad range of types from alternatives to the conventional types of lending e.g. asset or invoice finance to much more niche lending options such as short-term loans and single invoice finance. Then, of course, there are the myriad of crowd funding platforms that have sprung up.
Whilst this is a positive move in some respects, it poses problems for the SME owner/manager. Specifically:
* Who are these new lenders?
* Which ones best suit my business needs?
* Which ones are most reliable and offer the best rates?
The purpose of the seminar was to explain not only the concept but also to introduce attendees to some of the various types of alternative finance that are now available.
John Landers, Director of BFS said: “Those attending our seminar were given a broad overview of the scope of modern alternative finance lenders. We have seen a great increase in the number of these lenders in the past few years. The difficulty for the potential borrower is to understand who provides which service, and which are the best platforms for a particular borrowing requirement. That is where we at BFS come in!”
BFS were supported at the event by four of the UK’s leading alternative lenders. Each of these lenders provides a different type of funding, specifically: secured loans, ABL lending (asset and invoice finance), unsecured short term lending and a crowd funding platform offering both debt and equity options.
The next seminar, on the subject of ‘Alternative Sources of Finance for the SME’, will be held in at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at ML Stadium, Milton Keynes on Thursday 19 October. Places can be reserved via the BFS website at www.bufinserv.co.uk
Further details can be found on the BFS website ww.bufinserv.co.uk or by emailing If you would like to discuss a particular situation then call 01327 349779.