With recent news of business confidence levels on the rise for larger businesses in the UK, it is hoped that the positive outlook will trickle down to SMEs despite them seeing a sharp rise in insolvencies so far this year. Whilst the recent difficult trading conditions are still making life difficult for many businesses, there does appear to be positive signs on the horizon, hopefully leading to an economic situation more favourable to business growth. With that in mind, now is the perfect time for businesses to review their cashflow strategies to ensure all potential growth avenues can be unlocked and to protect against any challenges that still lie ahead.
Business confidence levels on the rise
As reported by Deloitte, business confidence levels have been on the rise, with 25% more chief financial officers feeling better about the future than worse, compared to 17% more feeling the opposite only three months ago. Whilst they say they do anticipate they will keep on putting out fires for a while longer, their outlook on 2024 and beyond is more favourable than it has been so far.
Reasons for the positive outlook are varied. Recent months have brought in a fall in the price of energy, and Spring and Summer are bound to bring in less demand and spend on electricity and gas; inflation seems to have peaked as per most economists’ predictions, and so far the country has managed not to enter into an official recession; Rishi Sunak becoming Prime Minister has led to a slowdown of scandalous headlines and improving relationships with the EU and a review of some Brexit frameworks, leading many to hope for easier trade conditions with the European markets.
All these factors could lead to the economic rebound many businesses have been counting on to unlock growth after a succession of difficult years. For those that have prepared for it and ringfenced working capital for new opportunities, this could be the beginning of a long overdue recovery; for those who have failed to prepare for growth, the fear is it could be a missed opportunity at best, and, in the worst kind of scenario, a risk of falling behind competition.
Asset-based lending as part of a robust cashflow strategy
Asset-based lending is a type of financing that uses assets such as receivables, plant and machinery, and property as collateral to access secured funding, as opposed to unsecured methods such as loans and overdrafts that tend to be pricier due to the lack of security. Asset-based lending can form part of a robust cashflow strategy by helping with:
- The provision of fast and flexible access to liquidity that can be used for day-to-day working capital needs, growth opportunities, acquisitions, restructuring, etc
- The reduction of reliance on high street banks and facilities that can be inflexible or costly and can lead to interrupted or slower growth patterns
- The enhancement of liquidity and cashflow management by allowing to borrow against the value of existing and future assets
- Supporting business continuity through seasonal downtimes or unforeseen circumstances such as economic downturns, supply chain disruptions or even natural disasters
- Benefiting from the expertise, guidance and support of funding and relationship experts who can offer additional value through insights, market intelligence, tailored solutions and strategic partnerships
Working with Ultimate Finance
As the funding part of choice, we understand that not every business need is the same and that is why we offer a range of funding solutions that can be tailored to each business’ requirements. We are solution led, and that means that a business’ need comes first, not our products. We have a proven track record of providing flexible funding that directly meets the requirements of a client.
But that’s not all: we don’t only provide the funding businesses need to keep moving, we also provide the support and peace of mind that helps them meet their ambitions, whether they’re focused on investing in people, marketing, improving products and services or simply making sure their employees are looked after.
We do this through four main asset-based lending solutions, which we then tailor to a business: Working Capital solutions comprising of Invoice Finance with sector specific variants for Construction, Recruitment and Trade Finance; Asset Finance, Bridging Finance, and our signature Structured Finance (a combination of two or more solutions to unlock as much working capital as possible).
Keeping business moving
If you are an Introducer looking to partner with us, register online today to start introducing your clients to us. To discuss your business’ funding needs, fill in our quick contact form and we’ll be in touch or call us today on 0800 121 7757.
