Case Studies
Funding Solutions
More than just a number: Ashley’s experience with SME Funding UK
Ashley, owner of AJS & Brothers Enterprises, was looking for funding in the region of £135K to expand his construction business and it was proving difficult to find the right deal. He’d spoken to other brokers, but it was Henry who was prepared to see it through and make sure the money landed in the bank.
The funding goal & business behind it
Ashley Smyth has run his family construction business based in Great Ancoats Street, Manchester for 30 years. AJS & Brothers supplies skips, scaffolding and diggers for construction projects. They’re also licensed for commercial waste removal, working with many other local businesses in Manchester.
The personal connection with his customers has always been very important for Ashley and his reputation for excellent customer service has grown the business steadily over the years. In 2019, Ashley set up a limited company and towards the end of 2022 he knew there were opportunities to win bigger contracts on the horizon. He needed more equipment to avoid the risk of all his scaffolding being tied-up and having to turn work away.
A typical funding route for an SME like AJS & Brothers is asset finance, where a company can borrow cash against equipment, vehicles or machinery it owns. Unfortunately for Ashley, scaffolding and skips are seen as relatively weak assets and therefore securing asset finance proved difficult.
Working with SME Funding UK
Henry reviewed the business finance and suggested the government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS). He swiftly found the right lender offering the right terms for AJS & Brothers.
Ashley describes Henry as perfect to work with. Ashley always had a direct line to Henry and was never just “a name or a number to be put on hold.” There was no waiting and waiting, wondering when you might hear back. Henry was on the other end of a call or Whatsapp message as late as 9pm on some evenings, making sure the application kept moving.
“Henry was absolutely amazing! I definitely wouldn’t have got this amount of funding without his help.”
The outcome for Ashley and AJS & Brothers Enterprises
The RLS loan allows Ashley to invest in more skips and scaffolding, just at the point when those bigger contracts are coming into view.
Construction in Manchester is set to ramp up during 2023, with a number of high-profile redevelopment projects including individual event spaces and residential developments with affordable housing. The opportunities this funding opens up for AJS & Brothers are massive and, with SME Funding UK by his side, Ashley is already planning a second phase of finance.
To hear Henry’s dulcet tones for yourself and speak with him about the right finance for your situation please pick up the phone and call 01223 848 844 or email henry@smefunding.uk
Fighting for small business vs a big lender: Kevin and Trynie’s experience with SME Funding UK
Finance Broker or Director of Miracles? Debs & Tom’s experience with SME Funding UK
We’ll stop short of naming and shaming, but some big lenders seem to think their size means they don’t have to care at all what their SME customers really need.
At SME Funding UK we believe smaller businesses should have every opportunity to grow. That’s why Henry fought hard for Kevin and Trynie to get their finance, even when the lender seemed intent on keeping their development project hanging in the balance.
The funding goal and the business behind it
Kevin’s background is in creating stunning property extensions and refurbishments. He’s had a dream of building his own house for a long time, so when he got the opportunity to buy land from a local farmer for development, he jumped at it.
In 2020, Kevin and Trynie were granted planning permission for a two-phase residential development. Phase 1 was converting the derelict barn on the land into 2 semi-detached houses, and Henry was recommended to them by their bank. He helped them secure finance and they completed the conversion. The current round of funding is for Phase 2: building three 2-bedroom properties that are planned to be complete by December 2023.
Working with SME Funding UK
Getting the second round of funding was, to put it bluntly, a nightmare.
“We couldn’t have done it without him, not at all. He was on the phone to us at 6pm in the evening and he even came to the house to help us with the paperwork. Henry was just fantastic,” said Trynie.
The solicitors acting for the lender were hopeless and the lender didn’t seem to care: it was like they had no drive to get the deal done. With no funding, contractors couldn’t be paid to get started and the project timelines started slipping, creating a lot of stress.
Even Kevin and Trynie’s solicitor, Katy, was struggling to get anything useful from the other side. As a small business, you may not have the clout or the knowledge to take a big organisation to task, but that’s where Henry comes in. He worked directly with Katy to keep things as simple as possible. He also kept the pressure on the lender’s solicitors and at one point he was calling them every 15 minutes to get some movement!
Kevin and Trynie trust Henry absolutely. He updated them regularly, he was available out of hours and quick to respond via WhatsApp and he never sugar-coated the situation. When Henry gives them an update, they know it’s the truth.
The outcome for Kevin and Trynie
After some painfully stressful weeks of waiting, it’s all go on the building project. The money finally came through the day before the scaffolders were due. Any further delays and they’d have had to cancel.
The whole site will be finished by December 2023 and Kevin’s dream of building his own house will be a reality. Kevin and Trynie haven’t yet decided whether or not they’ll be selling the new houses immediately and will consult with Henry to plan their next moves.
If you’d like to speak to Henry about the right finance for your situation, please pick up the phone and call 01223 848 844 or email henry@smefunding.uk
SME Funding UK – Caroline Chicken
The path to true funding never did run smoothly: Ed’s experience with SME Funding UK
Sometimes life and business are like a beautiful, calm pool … then there’s real life. The waters are choppy, your solicitors are on ‘go slow’, money is stressful and your personal life won’t stay quietly on hold while you deal with the business.
How do you turn the tide in your favour and realise those business opportunities that you know are within reach?
The funding goal & business behind it
Ed Coppard approached SME Funding for help with securing development finance. A couple of years ago, Ed moved to Devon and bought a farm. Ed had worked successfully as a groundworks contractor for 30 years and was considering property development to help realise his vision of spending fewer hours on-site in construction. Unfortunately, life didn’t stick to the plan, and a year later Ed was getting divorced, owned half a farm and his financial situation was very different.
Ed had planning permission to convert an existing milking parlour and build two 3-4 bedroom houses on his half of the farm, but didn’t have any funds for development and didn’t know what to do next. When a friend recommended Henry at SME Funding, Ed didn’t waste any time picking up the phone. He knew he needed a way to realise the development potential and needed financial advice from someone who would look out for his best interests.
Working with SME Funding UK
On Henry’s advice, Ed set up a limited company (West Devon Developments Ltd) and Henry found the right funding agreement to turn Ed’s assets into a viable business. They’ve already secured development finance to convert the old milking parlour into a three bedroom house and the next item on the agenda is finance for the other two dwellings. Ed says that he’s always gone down the route of self-finance and without Henry there’s no way he’d have set up the new company and got the development going.
Naturally, as this is real-life, the difficulties didn’t stop there. The divorce added complication after complication: there’s been trouble with the deeds for the land and with ironing out the new mortgage paperwork. According to Ed, Henry kept the finance deal moving against all the odds, including chasing the solicitors about deeds and mortgage paperwork when they were dragging their heels.
The outcome for Ed and West Devon Developments
West Devon Development is now up and running Ed has the money he needs for the build. Ed feels like he’s back in the driving seat and is already onto the next finance task: he’s got Henry working on finance to purchase an excavator and they will be looking into converting Ed’s development finance into a buy-to-let mortgage, when the build has been completed.
Ed says:
“I’ve been on the phone to Henry at 8pm, talking me through the forms for an hour to get this done. He’s gone above and beyond and done an amazing job. With Henry’s help I can now, finally, see my development business taking off.”
As an aside, Ed also describes Henry as “a man with a voice for radio”, which does make the team at SME Funding UK chuckle. Henry’s response? “At least Ed didn’t say I have a face for radio!”
To hear Henry’s dulcet tones for yourself and speak with him about the right finance for your situation please pick up the phone and call 01223 848 844 or email henry@smefunding.uk
SME Funding UK – Hunter Ops Ltd
Finance Broker or Director of Miracles? Debs & Tom’s experience with SME Funding UK
Debs & Tom started Hunter Ops during the early stages of the pandemic … and it really took off! Which led them to ask themselves: when you’re a start-up with limited capital, how do you make the leap from start-up to the bigger player without compromising your integrity or damaging cash flow?
The funding goal and the business behind it
As founders of a new start-up, Debs & Tom approached Henry to help with raising additional working capital following a recommendation from their accountant. Their current mission is scaling up to accommodate bigger projects without compromising on quality for the client and without ditching their commitment to looking after their suppliers.
Hunter Ops is all about establishing the personality that will propel their clients’ projects before there’s anything else to go on. Take high-end property development in Mayfair, for example. In the thick of the creativity of London, how do you generate the buzz needed to make an impact before the building work has even started?
They get projects off the ground for their clients using their expertise in large-format graphics, signage and hoarding to create a unique calling card that grabs attention. They work with literally everyone on the construction and development team, bringing in the best suppliers, removing obstacles and creating results. They also work in the TV, film and technology sectors.
From their business planning and forecasts, they knew they’d want finance to support them with landing those projects that would truly make their name. Thanks to their hard work it happened a little faster than they were expecting and, naturally, those big opportunities don’t just wait around.
“We work with people who are the best at what they do”
With a business built on building partnerships and brilliant connections, naturally, Debs & Tom were looking for a broker who would match the high customer service standards they offer to their clients. They say they’ve found this in Henry.
“We’d like to change Henry’s job title to ‘Director of Miracles’!
As well as being just brilliant all the way through, he discovered a mistake made by the lender at the 11th hour. We thought we were trapped with a useless agreement and were panicking, but Henry got on the phone and fixed it within 20 minutes.
Henry understood that timing was the most important thing for us. He was very straight with us and totally ready to pull the deal if we hadn’t got the finance in the timeframe we needed, even though he’d have lost his fee. Lots of people say it, but Henry really does put his clients first.”
The outcome for Hunter Ops
Now they’ve got the finance in place to scale up, Debs & Tom say they can dare to dream and keep going after those ambitious projects.
Over the next 12 months, they’re planning to hire new staff and bring their offering to new sectors within property and construction. Keenly scanning the horizon, they’re making plans to expand beyond large-scale print and build the connection and facilitation side of their business. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also set their sights on the potential of investing in new premises. They’re definitely the ones to watch.
If you’d like to speak to Henry about the right finance for your situation, please pick up the phone and call 01223 848 844 or email henry@smefunding.uk
SME Funding UK – Caroline Chicken
Say ‘Yes!’ to an unexpected opportunity: Caroline & Sally’s experience with SME Funding UK
Sometimes, an opportunity too good to miss arrives and you need help with finance, fast. Caroline and her mum, Sally, were looking for a short-term loan to avoid being tied into a costly and unnecessary mortgage.
The funding goal and the business behind it
Sally has been running a successful family business in Shotley, Ipswich for over 10 years now. Like so many others the family were forced to change their business plan during the pandemic. With careful planning and investment they set up a caravan park in 2021, which is thriving.
Unexpectedly, the village shop directly opposite their house came up for sale earlier this year. It’s a freehold commercial property and part of the fabric of the village. Caroline immediately saw the potential to renovate the shop and create a tea-room, alongside the newsagent and general store. They’d spoken before about how the large space had so much potential, but they didn’t expect a chance to do anything about it themselves!
Their challenge: they weren’t looking for a mortgage. All they needed was a short term bridging loan, while they freed up capital from other assets. Sadly their existing bank, who they’d been with for 30 years, was unable to help and there was no way to even discuss it.
Working with SME Funding UK
By this point, Caroline and Sally were excited about the possibilities of their venture but stuck and frustrated with the finance. They were also under time pressure: they had been outbid in their original offer, but the purchasers dropped out one week before the sale was due to be completed and Caroline was next on the list. They knew they needed to act swiftly to secure the sale.
Sally knew of Henry through a Facebook group for Suffolk Businesses, so she got in touch. She says
“Everything Henry told us was accurate and he kept us informed all the way through. He’s a really decent man, helpful and kind. He never dismissed any of our worries or doubts and he helped us talk through everything. He was fantastic: Caroline hadn’t dealt with business finance before and she found him very down to earth.”
The outcome for Caroline
SME Funding UK is pleased to report that Caroline bought the shop and has been trading since April 2022. They’ve started drawing up the plans for renovation and will submit a planning application as soon as they can.
As for the village of Shotley, the locals are delighted the village shop is continuing to trade and the idea of creating a tea room has gone down very well. Congratulations to Caroline and Sally for spotting the business opportunity, we know they will make a fantastic go of it!
If you’d like to speak to Henry about the right finance for your situation, please pick up the phone and call 01223 848 844 or email henry@smefunding.uk
SME Funding UK – STP Fabrication Limited
Find funding for ambitious growth: Carl’s experience with SME Funding UK
Cash flow can be a challenge even for a profitable business, yet when the time is right for expansion the market won’t wait. So how do you invest ahead of the curve and successfully ride the wave?
The funding goal and the business behind it
Carl Ross has big plans for STP Fabrication Ltd & Sub-Tech Precision Ltd: his vision for increasing STP’s customer base and manufacturing output means growing his workforce by 50% in the coming year. Unblocking cash flow is key and Carl needed low-risk finance to allow him the confidence to make long-term commitments.
STP Fabrication Ltd is a Fabrication and Welding Shop, and Sub-Tech Precision Ltd is a CNC machine shop that uses machine tools to manufacture steel and plastic components. They were incorporated towards the end of 2013 and supply equipment parts to the oil & gas sectors and also the food industry. Carl is the Director of both.
Carl’s challenge was to secure the right finance, fast. Workload ramps up in June as STP’s market in the oil & gas industry gets going. It’s heavily dependent on conditions in the North Sea and the weather won’t wait for a financing agreement to be in place!
Working with SME Funding UK
Carl approached Henry following a recommendation by a financial consultant already working within STP. In turn Henry came highly recommended to her by a colleague at HSBC, whom he’d worked with in the past. As the clock was against them, Henry worked with Carl remotely via phone call and zoom meeting to reach a speedy resolution.
Carl says “Henry made everything very easy and he went considerably above and beyond what I would expect of an average broker. We went to him with one thing we needed in mind and his ability to understand what else we required was uncanny. We’ll definitely be working with him again – in fact I’m looking forward to meeting him in person when he comes in to do our next refinancing.”
The outcome for Carl and STP
SME Funding UK worked with Carl right from the introduction to potential lenders through to signing the deal, with the right terms for his business and its ambitious vision for growth.
The new finance agreement puts STP in a positive position right at the start of the season by creating access to funds as they’re needed.
If you’d like to speak to Henry about the right finance for your situation, please pick up the phone and call 01223 848 844 or email henry@smefunding.uk
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