The Role of the Broker in a Recovering Economy
Guest Blog – Ultimate Finance
Ultimate Finance is a specialist asset-based lender that provides a wide range of flexible solutions to support the ambitions of UK businesses. Part of international private investment company Tavistock Group, Ultimate Finance has offices in Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Lutterworth and Edinburgh. Ultimate Finance currently supports over 2,500 businesses with flexible funding solutions to help realise potential through unlocking working capital, funding the purchase of assets and easing cashflow challenges. In 2020 Ultimate provided over £1.5bn in funding to their clients.
Faced with a constantly changing and uncertain environment for families, health, the economy and businesses right now, juggling priorities is a huge challenge for most of the UK.
With the vaccine roll out picking up pace it offers a great deal of optimism despite some of the harrowing statistics we are still faced with and in particular for those families who have lost loved ones.
With the country adjusting to leaving the EU and the changes that brings, and the government support schemes changing or coming to an end over the coming months, the Chancellor’s budget in early March should provide some element of certainty or at least more insight to a recovery plan for UK businesses. SMEs are at the heart of the economy and supporting them through their recovery and revival stage is going to be extremely important for lenders and specialist advisors.
The role of the advisor/broker/accountant has, like many other jobs in the last year, had to adapt quickly to understand the government funding schemes, and whether they are the right option for businesses versus more traditional lending. With so many lenders in the market, these specialist advisors will continue to have a vital role to play in helping businesses with their cashflow and liquidity challenges by offering advice and support in finding the funding to support their plans.
In helping businesses find the right funding, at the right time, advisors will give business owners the confidence that they are making the right funding decisions. This could be advising and facilitating refinancing of CBILS loans, refinancing of assets, structuring HMRC repayments, or providing working capital finance through invoice discounting, or specialist products such as Construction Finance.
Businesses must give themselves not only short-term support, but an ability to flourish in the medium to long term without the constraints of a cashflow headache on a weekly or monthly basis.
Ultimate Finance values it’s relationships with commercial finance brokers and feels they are going to be hugely important in keeping business moving in 2021 and beyond. In this regard we will work closely and in partnership to provide the best funding solution possible, through fast, commercial and flexible decision making, and the added value of a proper relationship to both business owner and broker.
Written by Michael Beer, Regional Director at Ultimate Finance
