When a business asks: Am I eligible for Finance ?

Am I eligible for finance ? Whether a new-starter or a well established business, access to finance can have a significant impact on the future success and development of many businesses.

Mark Johnson, managing director at independent broker and funder Johnson Reed, explains how a straight-forward process can help to secure funds and speed up the approval process:

We’re often asked, particularly by new-start operators: am I eligible for finance ?

We’re pleased to say that the answer is almost always ‘Yes!’

Whilst the bank and more traditional lenders tend to operate by a very strict criteria, the process of securing finance can be a straight-forward and much speedier process.

The information required and the process itself can vary depending on a number of factors and, whilst we like to review each business case individually, we understand it can help to have some initial transparency on what’s involved.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a cheat sheet to give you the inside track on how asset finance is underwritten and approved in the UK.

The Process

Whether you’re working to a tight deadline, or simply want to have funds in place in advance, we will work with you to ensure everything is done in accordance with your desired timescales.

Here’s how it works:

Supporting Evidence and Financials

With the help of an account manager, your completed application will be submitted for approval. If the underwriters need to see some supporting evidence, additional information is used to demonstrate that you’re financially responsible and capable of meeting repayments.

What we ask you to provide generally depends on your number of years trading and the amount you’re looking to borrow:

Am I eligible for finance?

The above illustrations are a guide, not hard and fast rules but we do find a way to make the process easy and only request the information we absolutely need to help you spend more time running your business and less time filling in application forms!

Extra Information for New Starts:

We do need to see at least one homeowner in the business, but if you are a tenant, you can get around this if you’re able to provide a guarantor. A trusted friend or family member will usually suffice, but it’s important to remember that this guarantee makes them liable to pay the repayments if you cannot – so it’s not a duty to be taken on lightly!

We also ask to see a thorough business plan and projections, usually the briefer the better! This quickly helps underwriters understand the bigger picture; the context of your business and the rationale behind the purchase. If you’re not sure our  How to write the perfect business plan guide may help.

Your first foray into finance certainly doesn’t need to be a daunting, onerous or time-consuming process!

Expert Opinion provided by Mark Johnson, Johnson Finance