In recent years business owners and employees have needed to adapt to learn how to cope with uncertainty and double down on resilience to keep moving through some challenging times. With interest rates expected to rise to 4.25-4.5% this year before settling at this level and a recession anticipated to be short and nowhere near as deep as the ones experienced in 2007-8 or 2020, there are steps that can be taken to help protect businesses from the ongoing turbulences and prepare for success in 2023.
Being organised today to prevent tomorrow’s problems
Businesses are still facing issues affecting levels of trade and confidence: since 2020, many parts and products the world over have been harder to obtain, and with high demand has come even higher prices, leading to higher production costs for most businesses, especially those reliant on energy, grains, computer chips and oil.
With this trend expected to continue throughout 2023 and inflation rates remaining at higher levels, Ultimate Finance’s CEO Josh Levy says, “Despite the uncertainty businesses have faced since the start of 2020, one thing that is undeniably certain is that strategies for success need to incorporate financial planning that can withstand most unexpected hurdles. Business owners must ensure their forecasts take into consideration higher spending levels and ringfence day-to-day cashflow to protect their access to liquidity”.
“Solutions such as asset-based lending provide targeted funding to help solve strategic pain points and provide access to the additional cash needed to meet any ambition, be it to thrive or simply survive another term. To that effect we really encourage owners to explore all their financial options with their finance department, advisers and brokers to ensure their route to cashflow is protected”.
Empowering employees to protect your business
Employees are also customers, and as such they have also been facing the consequences of a higher cost of living, potentially having to navigate personal hardship whilst working to help their workplace push forward. To that effect, employers must ensure they address the situation head on to help their employees keep moving but also support with retention and hiring efforts.
Head of HR Rebecca Evans explains, “The work market has seen a reshuffling of the cards in the last couple of years, with more jobs on offer than seekers, and it is important that employers provide competitive packages if they wish to retain and attract talented team members. Where higher wages may be difficult to provide due to the current financial climate, benefit packages need to be reviewed to ensure they address the main priorities of today’s workforce. For example, businesses can introduce employees to providers that help staff access pay in real time to help with their own cashflow, or provide access to professional health and wellbeing partners can ensure employees feel valued beyond their monthly salary”.
“Business owners can also sometimes overlook the power of funding when it comes to staff wages. Using a Working Capital solution such as Invoice Finance for example can help unlock the cash that’s tied in their invoices yet to be paid so that they can maximise their cashflow and pay existing staff or invest in growing their teams as necessary”.
Finding the right funding partner
Fast and guaranteed access to funding has helped thousands of businesses carry on in 2022, and the same will be true for 2023. However, when it comes to finding a funding partner that is right for a business, it can be wise to look beyond funding limits to ensure the perfect fit. Many business owners have reached out to Ultimate Finance looking for a facility that comes with additional value beyond entry to funding. Head of Relationship Management John Lightfoot says, “At Ultimate Finance we have over 20 years’ experience in providing personal access to funding solutions, and our relationship-driven approach has been a successful driver of growth for business owners who tend to partner with us for several years once they see how we work. Our facilities come with access to dedicated relationship teams whose role it is to ensure they have access to not only the cash but also the support businesses look for to keep moving: whether it is valuable insight we share through blogs and webinars, or access to our network of partners who provide help in other areas such as HR and insurance, or a necessary increase to their funding line to help with a new project, we pull out all the stops to make sure businesses have access to the tools they need to meet their ambitions”.
Helping keep businesses moving
In 2022, Ultimate Finance provided funding of more than £2.1bn to UK businesses through over 1,200 new facilities and continuing to support thousands of existing clients. Through partnering with Introducers such as brokers, advisers and accountants, we remained committed to providing access to much needed liquidity that supported the resilience efforts of over 3,000 businesses. With simple application processes that remove any unnecessary obstacles and dedicated teams throughout the process, clients can benefit from solutions that use receivables, plant, machinery, vehicles and/or property to inject as much cash as possible in their business. With the backing of private investment group Tavistock, an industry leading score of 4.9 out of 5 on independent review site Trustpilot and award-winning solutions, we are best placed to help keep businesses moving throughout 2023.
Introducers can register by filling a quick 20 second form to start discussing their clients’ requirements with a dedicated Regional Director, and business owners can get in touch to explore our funding options in more detail.
