In the past, many businesses have taken out Commercial Finance as a way to help with any problems, rather than as a safety net before these problems arise.
The pandemic has made businesses aware of having a healthy cashflow, with funds in the bank for a rainy day. Lately, we’ve seen more businesses use Commercial Finance to help them plan ahead.
One such business we have recently worked with is Glasgow based flooring retail business, who we worked with to obtain a business loan to help boost their cashflow.
The flooring retailer don’t sell their products online but use their Glasgow based store for most of their trade. When the pandemic hit and lockdowns came into force, unfortunately, they had to close their store to the public for 12 months.
This had a massive effect on business, now on the other side of lockdowns, their Managing Director wants to ensure that they are prepared for what the future holds.
When speaking to them about what the loan would be used for they said ‘We are going to use the loan to do some store improvements, but we also wanted to improve our cashflow. Nobody plans for a pandemic to hit but now that we’ve been through that experience, we want to be prepared for what happens next. Whether that’s more lockdowns or not we know that we’ve got cash in the bank to support the business’
They aren’t alone in their worries for the future, The Scotmans recently shared an article highlighting that ‘More than half of Scotland’s SME’s fearful for their business over the next two years’
The pandemic has affected many businesses and left even more scared of what’s to come. Whether that’s more lockdowns, changed ways in consumer behaviour businesses are unsure of their survival.
What can businesses do?
Speaking with a commercial finance intermediary can help businesses to understand all the options that are available to them, from spreading the cost of Tax bills to using working capital to improve cashflows.
The flooring retailer used this opportunity to boost their cashflow, making sure they have cash in the bank to help if the worst should happen again. The cash also allowed them to make growth plans, and further expand their business.
Describing the process as ‘Simple and Easy’, the flooring retailer said ‘Its’ refreshing to work with someone who doesn’t promise the world and then not deliver on what was promised. Instead, Robert was straight talking, he was realistic about what to expect from the start.
This meant we felt comfortable leaving Robert to sort out the Commercial Finance, while we focused on our business’
Speaking with businesses has highlight that most are unaware of the commercial finance options available to them. There are many products out there that can help businesses to improve their cashflow and help prepare them for a rainy day.
ABL are always available to speak to businesses about commercial finance options. We have members of the ABL team based up and down the country ready to help with any of your requirements. Speak to the ABL team today!
If you want to find out further information about this topic you can get in touch with us via email or call us on 01274 965356 to talk through your options.