Funding 4 Retail

Business/Property Type General Stores Newsagents Off Licences Post Offices Specialist retailers	Loan to Value % Up to 75% of Market Value Up to 100% funding can be considered with additional security. Special schemes available for Post Offices - please contact us to discuss.	Interest Rates From base rate + 2% Special low start scheme available for Post Offices from base rate + 1%.	Loan Term Up to 20 years can be considered.
Comments Accounts not always required Valuation or specialist business appraisal commissioned by us Additional information required. - C.V. on each applicant. - Asset & liability statement. - 6 months bank statements. Several specific schemes available for Post Offices - Please contact us to discuss.



1. GENERAL STORE - LACK OF ACCOUNTS The Question: Could we assist a client to arrange funding to purchase a General Store, Off Licence and Newsagent in Buckinghamshire? The Proposal: We were approached by a client to arrange funding to purchase a General Store, Off Licence and Newsagent. The business was being purchased freehold with the benefit of 3 bedroom living accommodation where our client intended to live. The vendor had been ill for some time and so the business was run down with the accounts reflecting the downturn in trade over recent years. However our client was an experienced operator who saw the potential of the business and now wished to proceed with the purchase. The Requirement: Our client required a total loan of £65,000 to enable him to proceed with the purchase. The Solution: The first thing we had to do was ascertain the trading position of the business. To do this we instructed a business valuation and appraisal to be carried out. The benefits of this were threefold. Firstly it gave us a valuation of both the property and business which was essential for lending purposes. Secondly it gave us a clear picture of the current trading position of the business. Thirdly, following discussions with our client the valuer was able to provide a year one projection based on our clients intentions for developing the business to its full potential. The Benefits: Prior to approaching us, our client had approached several other lenders who were unwilling to consider the proposition due to the lack of profitability in the accounts. However as we pointed out during our initial meeting with the client, these accounts reflected a historical situation and in no way took into account our clients proposals for developing the business. The benefit we offered was that we negotiated a deal which took into account the projections based on our clients proposals, this meant we were able to proceed with funding as required.

2. SPECIALIST RETAILER - BUSINESS EXPANSION The Question: A client who was currently running his specialist retail business from rented premises in South London now wished to purchase a freehold property as part of a planned expansion program. Could we assist? The Proposal: Our client had successfully operated for 18 months a business as a specialist retailer for collectors of comics, trading cards and science fiction memorablia. To date the business had operated from rented premises in a secondary retail position and our client now had the opportunity to purchase a freehold unit in a much more prominent high street position. The intention was to move the business to the new unit whilst our clients would occupy the living accommodation on the first floor. The difficulty had been that there was no accounts available as this was a relatively new business and the first years accounts had not yet been prepared. The Requirement: Our client required a loan facility of £130,000 in order to complete the purchase of this new freehold unit. The Solution: The key point was finding a lender who was prepared to consider our clients funding requirements without the last years accounts and also on the basis of his projections for the business once he had taken over the new unit. We assisted our client in preparing projections and cash flow forecasts which enabled one of our lending principals to proceed with the level of funding required by the client. The Benefits: Our client was unsure how best to proceed with his funding requirements, his own bank having indicated that they would only be in a position to consider matters once the first full years trading figures became available. We developed a strategy which included approaching a lender who was prepared to consider the deal on the basis of projections. This we were able structure, and it meant the difference between success and failure as far as our client was concerned.

3. TOWN CENTRE RETAILER - 90% OF PROPERTY PURCHASE The Question: Could we assist a client to purchase the freehold of his existing premises in a prime retail location in South West London? The Proposal: Our client was a very experienced and successful retailer having been Independent Retailer of the Year earlier in his career. Having developed several pet shops within the south London area, he had now been given the opportunity to purchase the freehold of one of the pet shops he currently occupied as a tenant. The shop in question was new and whilst trading successfully had only been open for 10 months. Our client as the "tenant in situ" was purchasing at a discount to the valuation and required a loan equal to 90% of the purchase price. The Requirement: Our client required a total loan amount of £270,000 over a 20 year period. The Solution: In order to overcome the short trading history of the unit in question we prepared a business plan taking into account all of our clients business activities and built up an overall picture of his success to date. As a result of this and following a valuation of the property we were able to source funding from one of our lending principals who was prepared to assist. The Benefits: The key benefit for the client was that he was able to obtain 90% funding against the purchase price. This was important because it enabled our client to keep cash in reserve for future projects.