Our client had been provided with the opportunity to build 15 residential properties on a prime location with the land owner, but did not have any cash deposit to put towards this. The client also did not have experience of constructing this many properties at one time. There was a need to source funds as soon as possible as there were a number of other developers who were interested in taking on the project.

We were able to raise capital on other assets the client owned in order to provide additional funds, but this was not quite sufficient for them to develop the site on their own. We therefore introduced our clients to a specialist development banker who proposed a strategy which allowed our clients, with a nominal deposit, to develop the land in conjunction with the land owner on what is known as a ‘joint venture’ basis.

This client was a small engineering business that needed an injection of capital to help with cash flow. The bank had reduced their overdraft facility and they had other business borrowing on a very high interest rate.

As the business was in the middle of a trading period it was difficult to provide audited profit figures and the previous years accounts had not been finalised.

In addition to this the property they lived in was on the same title deed as the business premises and it was proving difficult for them to find another lender that would look to support them. The clients owned the business premises and house.

We researched a lender that would allow them to self certify their income, (this means that they did not have to provide any documentary evidence e.g. business accounts, to show what they were earning) and would lend them up to 85% of the value of the properties on a capital repayment basis or up to 80% on interest only for 3 years. As a result of this they were able to raise the capital that they required and injected it into their business.

It was proving very difficult for our clients to sell their hotel business in time to be able to purchase a public house that they desperately wanted to buy. The hotel had a bank loan secured on it.

When they approached us they had already approached a number of different lenders, including their existing bankers, but they were able to assist them until the hotel was sold.

The vendors of the public house agreed to reduce the sale price substantially if they were able to raise the finance quickly.

We managed to find a lender that allowed them to raise sufficient finance on the hotel that they owned, that repaid the existing loan and provided additional funds that could be used as the deposit for the purchase of the public house which they also financed.

Our clients – a celebrity chef and his partner, had been declined finance to start up their own restaurant by their existing bankers. They were very keen to be able to open the new restaurant in order for it to coincide with the launch of a new book.

We repackaged the proposal and were quickly able to secure the finance required with another high street bank. The clients went on to open the restaurant in time for the launch of their new book.

We were approached by a long standing client who felt that his current bank were not offering him a fair deal on his business banking and a loan he was taking to purchase another business premises.

We reviewed the terms being offered and were confident of being able to source more competitive rates with another lender. However before we proposed this, we asked our client to check with his current bankers to ensure that they were offering him the very best rates that they were able to. When they confirmed that this was the case we packaged a business proposal to other bankers. Within a week we were able to offer a lower interest rate on all of his borrowings, free banking for 12 months with reduced charges thereafter and reduced charges on his credit card services.

Our client was setting up a new business of an office workspace complex and required leasing finance for computers, office furniture, gym equipment and catering equipment. As it was a new start up business they were struggling to secure the finance that was required. They wanted to lease the equipment as it was more tax efficient than purchasing it.

Through our contacts with specialist leasing companies we were able to secure finance for some of the equipment. The terms of the finance provided the client with the option to purchase the equipment at the end of the lease for a nominal payment or return the equipment to the finance company.

These clients were recommended to us as a ‘last port of call’ by their existing bankers as they had been trying for a considerable time to consolidate their debts and extend the period of time that these were repaid over. Bailiffs had recently visited them to seek assets to repay unpaid child support payments.

They were encountering a number of problems in securing finance for the following reasons:

• They were both self employed and unable to prove their income.
• They had missed payments on a number of loans and credit cards
• They had County Court Judgements registered against them
• All of their available income was being used to service debt and they therefore had to keep
   borrowing to survive.
• As their home and business were on the same title deeds; and the home occupied much more
   space than the business, there were very few lenders that would lend to this type of property.

One good point that our clients had been able to do was to maintain the payments to those loans that were secured against their properties. This is very important to do as it demonstrates to new lenders that these clients viewed loans secured on their properties very seriously and always tried to maintain the payments. Please note that it is not always possible for everyone to be able to achieve this – should you be reading this and have missed a number of payments on your borrowings, please contact us for further guidance.

We packaged the application to a specialist lender that was sympathetic to our client’s circumstances and allowed them to self certify their income. They agreed to lend the funds to our clients in principle within 4 hours of submitting the initial enquiry.

Once the funds were raised we reviewed the client’s circumstances again and whilst they were able to raise a considerable amount of money it was still not enough to clear their debts. We therefore recommended them to an Insolvency Practitioner and they recommended for my clients to enter into a Voluntary Arrangement with their creditors. By taking this action this would allow them to pay a lower amount that was actually owing to their creditors in full and final settlement of their debt.

The overall cost for comparison is 8.5% APR Typical. The actual rate available will depend upon your circumstances. Ask for a personalised illustration

This was an interesting proposition where the clients wanted to remortgage a loan on land that they had a static caravan on and were applying for full planning permission to build a home with an agricultural tie. They also wished to purchase a further 6.5 acres adjoining their land and consolidate substantial personal loans and credit cards. They had been trying to raise finance for a long time without success.

Through our contacts with lenders that specialise in finance for agriculture we were able to remortgage the loan on their land, provide the funds required to purchase the new land and sufficient funds to pay off their loans and credit cards

We were recommended by an Accountant to a Medical Consultant to raise finance for some specialist medical equipment for a new medical practice that they were opening. The client had received an offer from their existing bankers but did not feel that it was particularly competitive; but as they were very busy, did not have the time to research the situation for themselves.

We have access to a finance company that only provides finance to professionals:- Doctors, Dentists, Solicitors, Accountants, Vets etc. and as they only specialise in this market they are able to offer very competitive rates. We approached this lender and were able to secure the required funds very quickly at a far more competitive rate than the bank was offering.

We were approached by a beautician business that had been presented with an opportunity to purchase the ideal premises in which to expand their business into. The property was only 100 yards away from their existing location, so they would not lose existing clientele, and whilst it was an existing residential property it would easily convert into a premises to trade out of. They had managed to negotiate a very good price for the property and were under extreme pressure to complete or else the property was to go back onto the market. They had tried various avenues to raise the funds required but none of the lenders that they approached were able to help them.

By looking in detail again at the proposition and the distribution of asset’s that the owners of the business had, we were able to repackage and structure the proposition that appealed to a lender. An agreement in principle was provided by a lender within a week to offer the funds and the property was purchased within the required timescale.

We were looking to replace one of our own vehicles on a lease and checked a number of suppliers and leasing companies on the internet.

We eventually found a leasing/finance company that no-one was able to beat on price, hence they provided us with the car.

Since then we have sourced vehicles for a number of friends through this provider and have now decided to offer this service to all of our clients.

We do not proclaim to always be the cheapest, but we often are. We are able to source most vehicles on various finance contracts – in the first instance we recommend that you provide us with the cheapest quotation that you can find for the vehicle(s) that you require and let us see if we can beat it for you.

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We were approached by a high street bank to see if we could source a mortgage for a client of theirs who wished to expand his business into another European Country and purchase a property to for his business to operate from. The client had a deposit that could be provided, but the loan would need to be secured on the property that they were purchasing in that particular country, and no UK lender would provide the finance for this reason.

The lending criteria differs greatly from one country to another and it is therefore imperative to utilise experienced lenders that have an understanding of the lending criteria in that particular country. Lenders in each country also require a lot more information when providing finance to non nationals/residents and it requires a lot of effort from all parties to ensure this information is readily available.

Through our contacts with specialised lenders operating in this sector we were able to secure a mortgage at 3.78%, in the country where our client required the property.

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Without doubt Buy to Let property investment has been one of the most popular and successful business ventures undertaken by entrepreneurs over the last 10 years. We have clients with portfolios of buy to let properties to single dwellings.

The clients had been referred to me by a local Accountant as they were looking to purchase 3 separate properties that they wished to let out and they were working to a very tight timescale. They had a limited deposit and all of the properties were spread over the county and quite diverse. The clients also wished to have a different repayment structure to each loan.

We were able to source 3 separate mortgages for each property meeting each properties individual criterion and all mortgages were completed within the required timescale.

Testimonials

“I seemed to be getting further and further away from being able to purchase the property at the start of my new business venture. I was introduced to Steve Fletcher, and within 2 weeks had an offer of finance to support the property purchase. We are extremely grateful to him for helping me secure the funding for my business.”
Pip Nolan – Lock Keepers Tea Rooms, Newark

“We have been dealing with Steve for a number of years as a financial adviser, and do so because he provides us with excellent service; he has a very high level of integrity, is extremely professional in everything he does and looks after both our personal and business financial requirements extremely efficiently. We frequently recommend his services to friends and business associates with absolute confidence.”
Mr & Mrs Edwards – Losberger UK Ltd

“I would just like to thank you very much for helping to arrange the funding on our new business premises. At all times I was dealt with professionally, courteously and efficiently. It really was a pleasure to do business with you.”
Max Baker – MTV Service Centre Ltd, Lincoln

“We had just about exhausted all avenues to try and get money to purchase a new business property. After speaking to Steve we had finance agreed through a bank to purchase the property in a week. Steve has since helped us with a number of other financial areas involving business and personal circumstances. He has been extremely diligent and efficient and we regularly refer him to our clients.”
Michelle Cleminson and Lisa Miller – Eden Tanning & Beauty, Bracebridge Heath

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