When it comes to a commercial mortgage this lender; an award winning bank at the recent annual Bridging & Commercial awards, realises that its clients expect more from it. No off-the-shelf product. Your mortgage should fit your needs exactly.

With this bank you get a precisely tailored mortgage. So whether you are an experienced investor, first time-buyer or looking for a property for your business, they “promise” competitive rates and terms designed around you.

Unlike other business banks they do not publish rate information. Instead they will set an individual rate based upon the strength of your application. A dedicated lending manager will oversee your application and keep you informed at every step.

Key highlights.

• up to 70% Loan to Value
• Lending amounts £25,001 – £2m.
• Terms from 5 to 20 years.
• Interest margin available over LIBOR. For commercial mortgages to owner occupiers, margins over Bank of England base rate are available.

On a single property, maximum £5m exposure to a single customer over multiple securities.

Mortgage Options.

Whatever you investment strategy, the lender can tailor a mortgage to suit you.

Investment mortgages (residential and commercial)

Ideal if you are a landlord or investor looking to expand your portfolio.

Business mortgages (also known as commercial mortgages for owner-occupiers)

Ideal if you wish to optimise your business finance – whether you wish to purchase your business premises and save on rent, or are looking to expand the business.

Buy-to-let mortgages.

Ideal if you are looking to purchase a residential property with the specific aim of letting it to tenants. Whether you are just starting out or already have a number of investment properties they aim to quote competitive rates and terms.

Key highlights

• Attractive rates linked to LIBOR, Bank Base Rate or Fixed rates.
• Personal service
• Fast, award-winning service and turn around.
• Up to 70% loan to value
• Expert lending team
• No compulsory insurance arrangements.

Properties they lend on,

They lend on a range of properties, including:

• Offices
• Industrial units
• Modern factories and warehouses
• Retail without living accommodation
• Retail with living accommodation
• Commercial and residential investment properties
• Licenses houses in multiple occupation.

A recent case highlighted the requirement for a “secured Loan”. The client wished to install solar panels and had approached their mortgage provider. The client was on an extremely beneficial mortgage rate but to have taken out an additional loan would have INCREASED the borrowing rate on the total facility. In order to “protect” and continue with the existing mortgage rate it was considered prudent to apply for a Secured Loan. The total loan to value was well within the criteria of the Lenders and the loan was approved.

The client decided to spread the payments over a number of years BUT had the comfort that should they require to repay EARLY they were NOT going to face the requirement of severe penalties. In certain instances and provided suitable notice is given, a set fee (£195) in one instance or one month’s interest, would be payable.

Secured loans can be used for a variety of purposes; Home Improvements, Business Purposes, Tax Bills. As long as it is LEGAL it can be considered.

Key Features of Secured Loans

• Rates from 7.9%
• LTV’s up to 85%
• Range of 2nd charge term loans from £3,000 to £3m.
• Loans for the self employed without accounts up to 75% LTV
• Unlimited Adverse up to 75%
• Higher income multiples or alternative affordability calculators than on first mortgages.
• 2nd Charges on BTL’s
• Loan preferable as adverse credit prevents a remortgage or decent mortgage rate.
• May secure your current beneficial rate with your mortgage provider for your 1st Mortgage.
• Short term facility required to clear unsecured credit.

For further information please contact us.

You may identify an attractive investment property in an auction catalogue. The property required some work and you wished to have the comfort that at the auction you knew how much you could bid up to.

We are able to introduce you to credible lenders who can arrange a flexible facility by taking a charge over an existing property to provide you with the deposit and credit limit with which to bid at the auction. You can now bid in confidence.

Once the property has been acquired and refurbished the loan can be refinanced.

100% of purchase price and refurbishment works available – with additional security.
Advances from £10,000 to £1,000,000.
Terms up to 12 months.
Scotland, England and Wales.
NO upfront fees payable to the lender.
Retained Interest offered.

For further information contact us.

Many businesses consider “conventional” factoring also known as Invoice Discounting but do not wish to commit to a contract which would tie them in for a period of time and indeed require them to have a good spread of debtors.

If you find your business in this bind and do not have the time to seek financing through banks, SPOT FACTORING could be just what you need.

Spot factoring is an extremely fast and simple way to turn your receivables into cash, with no long term obligation, no commitment to value or quantity of invoices that you sell, it is in effect a “use it as you need it service” to help the cash flow of your business.

The transaction can be for a single invoice with up to 90% of the invoice being advanced at the start of the agreement; there is no obligation to use the service again, alternatively the service can be structured to support on-going cash flow needs.

• Fast access to cash – first time applicants can receive cash in 48-72 hours; previously approved clients can receive cash in less than 24 hours.
• Flexible – no minimums or maximums; no long-term contracts or obligations; no need to finance your entire receivables portfolio…use us when you need us.
• Fee free – no upfront application fees, no due diligence fees, no credit line fees (spot factoring is not a loan).

CER Business Finance Limited are working with one of the world leaders, The Interface Financial Group in this sector to deliver this service to clients across the UK. If you are seeking short-term working capital just when your business requires it in order that you can take advantage of increased business opportunities, then the innovative single invoice factoring solution provided by The Interface Financial Group offers immediate short-term working capital to growing businesses.

If you would like to understand how this solution may help your business, then in the first instance please contact Bill Christie, Director CER Business Finance Ltd through the enquiry form on this web site.

The definition of an SME (small and medium enterprise) has been described as:-

Has fewer than 250 employees.

Has either a) an annual turnover not exceeding circa £24m or b) annual balance sheet total not exceeding circa £16m

25% or more of the capital or voting rights are not owned by one enterprise, or jointly by several enterprises falling outside this definition of an SME.

The problem with our Politicians and Banks is that they require to redefine the meaning of a Small Business. In the UK small business is BIG BUSINESS.

The majority of small business should in my opinion be defined as MICRO BUSINESSES and considered in that light.

Central Government is said to be “encouraging” the Banks to lend but it is not certain that that has greatly influenced the Banks. The Government is right to identify the issue and urge banks to do more – but it cannot just snap its fingers. David Kern, Chief Economist at The British Chamber of Commerce argues the banks haven’t lost much as a result of SME lending in the recent crisis; the last time they did was in the early 1990s.

There is little evidence that banks are willing to relax credit criteria, even if they are forced to increase lending. The first criterion for banks is to get their money back and the second is to get a return on it.

Small Businesses asking for funding often do not have a Plan B for when Plan A to pay of the loan does not work out. Banks are not there to bail out failing businesses. They want to see a proper business plan and this is where professionals such Bill Christie at CER Business Finance are so important to ensuring that the relative information is collated and presented to a suitable lender.

Banks also need to up their game with a more acute understanding of the needs of Small Businesses and that means restoring the long neglected role of relationship managers. It is claimed that banks no longer have managers knowledgeable enough to make decisions on lending to a profitable business, and that their successors exaggerate the risk simply because they are less experienced./ In short business-savy bankers have been replaced with box-tickers.

In many instances The Small Business is faced with “telephone relationship “managers” This is NOT the way to build a customer – banker relationship .

Face to face communication to understand the business, their working environment, the competition and the financial tools to assist that business grow – that is what Banking should be.

Business is about risk-taking but the difference is in reasonable risk and reckless risk. Targets only help in terms of creating the right psychology. Beyond that, we need to persuade banks to create an infrastructure of managers – managers who understand the needs and requirements of MICRO Businesses.

Only around one in three SMEs have gone to their bank for money over the last twelve months, regardless of the size of the enterprise.

Perceptions of funding do differ, however with 28% of start-ups feeling that the availability of money is poor but only 16% of larger businesses agreeing.

This information for the Business Banking Study was collated by Mark Dennis, Director of Charterhouse Research who reported that the results point to negative expectations rather than an actual lack of funding. He suggests that perhaps start-ups and smaller businesses need more support and help to find out exactly what their funding options should be.

The Business Banking Survey is a syndicated study of 17,000 British businesses, ranging from start-ups to companies with a turnover of £1bn.

Bill Christie, Director of CER Business Finance Ltd is only too well aware that businesses both start ups and established ones tend to “go it alone” without seeking the professional help required in order to prepare and submit a lending proposal to the Lender appropriate for that businesses requirements.

This can have serious impact over the life-expectency of small businesses. Without proper funding, either they may fail to start or may fail to attract the right amount of attention from potential customers and hence, fail within a year or two.

There are several reasons behind this. The primary reasons are that financial institutions have been asked to increase the amount of capital they hold in order to lend. This has gone up. And as a result, they are either calling back the loans they had disbursed early. Or they are refusing to lend.

Having said that, financial institutions can only make money if they lend money. And hence, they are still lending. The criteria, however, have now become more stringent.

Whereas, in the past you could get a loan with a fair credit rating, now you need to not only have impeccable credit history, you also need to provide an element of security and deposit of as much as up to 30% of the loan value.

Get your application wrong the first time and you could be in for a long haul. You may have to make presentations after presentations. You may end up speaking to the wrong financial institution for your needs. Or you could end up speaking to the wrong department or person.

This can cause stress. And not only that, you may lose valuable opportunities and time. And rather than spending time doing what you are best at, you would end up preparing presentations and chasing financial institutions and with no result.

This is where working with specialists such as CER Business Finance can help.

We have worked with businesses from many sectors and of various sizes. And we have helped them secure the right funding.

Recently, Bill Christie, the Director of CER Business Finance, gave an interview to The Herald in which he has gone into details as to what financial institutions need to do to help Small Businesses. You can read the original article by clicking on the link below:

The-Herald-30-Apr-2011-Page21

We spend time to understand your situation and requirements. We don’t try to fit you into a box. Rather, we build a brand new presentation around your case.

And once we have done that, we approach the right person in the right department at the right lender. The result is much less stress and speedy results.

While we would love to guarantee our results, these depend on the information you provide.

We work in an honest way with you. And if at the outset we feel that you may not be eligible to get the funding you are looking for, we will mention that. In which case, there is no cost to you.

Get expert advice, preferably from someone with hands on experience of the banking system.

Your adviser should contemplate an approach to your existing lender in the first instance – they “should” know your business best.

Working with your own Bank and NOT against it can be beneficial but in many instances the relationship may have been soured.

Shopping around may not always be productive for you. It is important that your adviser obtains as MUCH information from you as possible and be in a position to compile and submit a professional application on your behalf.

Provide good, accurate and credible financial data, in the form of statements and projections. Figures require to be substantiated. You need to explain why you need the loan – and how you are going to generate the cash to pay it back. “Serviceability” is the key to any proposal.

If you need to make cutbacks to preserve cashflow, make sure that all those involved in the business, Directors, and Partners are “sharing the pain” in terms of their own pay and dividends.

Your adviser should always consider alternative or supplementary sources of finance. The overdraft is not only and indeed not always the “only deal in town”.

Bill Christie FCIBS
Chartered Banker
Director : CER Business Finance Ltd.

Sub-contractor Insurance

One of Scotland’s top insurance brokers, Central Insurance Services, has warned principal contractors to conduct thorough and regular checks of their subcontractor insurances, following a spate of uninsured claims. Scott Campbell, Account Director at Central, highlighted that many contractors will check their subcontractors’ insurance renewal date and liability limits, but not delve deeper into policy conditions, warranties and exclusions. “This opens up a serious exposure to the principal’s own liability. Many of the policies in force carry onerous conditions, such as heat work requirements, working at height and depth limitations, and inner limits of liability.”

In addition, the business description should always be representative of the work being carried out “If a roofer is involved in scaffolding work and it’s not noted on their description of activities, again they are inviting the insurer to repudiate cover.”

Right now, due to economic pressures and an increasing claims culture, insurers are scrutinising every single claim and will want to check policy requirements are being adhered to, to minimise their own losses.

It is also important to check the insurances on an annual basis, in line with the individual subcontractor’s renewal date. Scott says “it is not enough to check all the subcontractor insurances at one given point in the year – these must be analysed individually to ensure there is no time-gap in known cover. We regularly check subcontractors as a matter of course for our principal contractor clients – it is something that all brokers should be doing as part of their core service offering.”

Scott Campbell can be contacted on 0141 333 8052.

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