| Turnover: | £1.2 million |
| Requirement: | £200,000 |
| Sector: | IT, Technology, Systems |
| Location: | Lisburn, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland |
| Incorporated: | 2008 |
I was introduced to this growing IT Software Consultancy and Solutions business by their accountant. Experiencing 120% year-on-year growth since 2013, they were about to close their largest contract to date worth £500,000 over 12 months with a company who had spun out of a very well known business within the Financial Services sector. The business was looking to expand in line for this growth, and had estimated a working capital need of at least £200,000 over the next 12 months in order to fund this expansion. .
What was the challenge?
On the face of it, arranging finance for a growing and profitable business sounds easy. However, this is not always the case. Being based in Northern Ireland, unfortunately a business is automatically limited in their options - even when it comes to the alternative finance market. It can be difficult to raise over £100,000 of unsecured debt finance for Northern Irish businesses as lenders either don’t have the appetite to lend at that level, in that geography - or don’t have the legal documentation to do so. Whilst this is a shame as there a plenty of vibrant, creditworthy businesses trading from Northern Ireland, it was important that we were aware of this limitation from the beginning.
Result
Knowing the lending landscape for lenders with the appetite to lend over the £100,000 watershed was the first step - and our client had actually already contacted a lender who was able and willing to do so. Our client had spoken to, at length, with a well known alternative finance lender but had not been able to reach the desired outcome. Through thoroughly understanding the issues at hand, knowing the lender landscape and collaborating with their accountant - we were able to introduce a pragmatic lender who structured the desired £200,000 contract finance facility. This allowed for their expansion plans to go ahead unhindered and meant that both our accountant partner and their client were pleased with the introductions and the experience of using the Capitalise platform to access finance options they may otherwise not have known about.
Long-lasting relationships
Due to our commitment to fostering long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships, the aforementioned accountant has continued to use the Capitalise platform to search for and secure finance for other clients and contacts of his.
Our clients’ expansion plans already well underway, we were approached by the business a few months after securing the contract finance facility with plans to finance a £60k asset for them. This was achieved with aplomb, having the facility agreed less than a week after making our introductions.
