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Commercial Finance Independent UK Broker

Commercial Finance – Business Interruption Loans and COVID

How COVID-19 Has Impacted Commercial Finance

The COVID-19 pandemic has left a lasting impact on many aspects of life, from restrictions on social lives, to businesses going into administration. Even though the UK economy is now experiencing a period of positive growth, mainly due to the pace of the vaccination programme, the financial impact of the pandemic is still very visible.

Should you be looking for some free and friendly advice, contact our team on 03303 112 646 or send a message online to begin an email conversation should you prefer.

Shortly after the first lockdown restrictions came into place, lenders were quick to tighten their lending criteria, to try and protect themselves from the expected risk of higher unemployment levels and people struggling to pay off mortgages and loans.

Commercial finance was affected in a similar way, with so many businesses being forced to close during lockdown, the commercial finance landscape lurched into unknown territory.

Many businesses were provided with financial support in the form of furloughing, business interruption loans and bounce back loans but others were unable to apply for these. Some lenders offered holiday payments for commercial finance, so there were numerous financial support options in place to try and help struggling businesses survive the pandemic.


Commercial Mortgages UK Adverse Credit and BTL

As an independent UK Commercial Mortgage Broker we carefully examine all the Buy-to-Let mortgage offers from leading whole of market lenders across the UK. You will benefit from low interest rates, lenient eligibility criteria and a simplified procedure. You also have the choice of Second Charge Mortgages, Adverse Credit Mortgages for individuals with crediting challenges, to straightforward Residential Mortgages for your own home.

With the reassurance of attractive Mortgage Protection Insurancee options, we also offer specialist mortgage broker services such as self-employed Contractor Mortgages, Expat Mortgages, home loans and Sharia Mortgages, to commercial Serviced Accommodation Finance from holiday homes to Property Investors, Developers and existing Homeowners.

Business Loan Applications – UK’s Changing Priorities

The priority for the government was to assist existing businesses, rather than helping new businesses to launch, which was highlighted by the financial support options that were made available. Startup loans were still available from some lenders but it was now harder for many would-be entrepreneurs to access loans.

In the UK, many people use startup business loans to buy the equipment and pay for other essentials when they start up a business. With the economic downturn, many lenders have withdrawn products from the market and tighter lending criteria was applied.

However, the Bank of England cut interest rates down to 0.1% which meant that some of the new business loan interest rates have been more attractive for startup business owners, but there is a more comprehensive set of lending criteria to enable lenders to manage risk in the unstable climate.

COVID Government finance support schemes for businesses

To assist existing businesses who had been adversely affected by coronavirus, the government introduced the following schemes to support cashflow during this challenging period:

Interest-Free Business and Commercial Loans

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)

SME businesses have been able to access business interruption loans for lost revenue and cashflow disruptions. The CBILS was also made available to businesses whose growth requirement could not be supported under standard bank lending criteria. Under the scheme, businesses who had been adversely affected by the pandemic could apply for loans of up to £5million.

The first 12 months of the loan is interest-free and the interest rates after a year for the CBILS scheme were set by the lenders. Some lenders provided the loans with an interest rate as low as 1.4%, while at the higher end of the scale, some lenders were offering the loans with a 8.9% interest rate. Terms were available for up to 10 years.

To encourage more lending, the government also guaranteed loan repayments, with the borrower being fully liable for the debt.

Lenders were able to provide the following finance under the CBILS scheme:

  • Term loans
  • Overdrafts
  • Invoice finance
  • Asset finance

Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) SME and Sole Trader Businesses

The Bounce Back Loan was aimed to support smaller businesses and sole traders, to provide them quick access to financial support. The scheme allowed businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover (to a maximum of £50,000). For the first 12 months, there is no interest to pay and following that first year a rate of 2.5% would be applied.

The maximum loan length for the BBLS was six years and this scheme also came with a guarantee to the lender from the government for the repayment, with the borrower remaining liable for the debt.

Pay As You Grow (PAYG) Business Support

For businesses who took out the BBLS, the option for PAYG was later introduced to provide further support, allowing:

  • An extension of the loan term from six years up to 10 years, remaining at 2.5% interest rate.
  • Reduction of monthly payments by paying interest-only for six months. This could be requested up to three times throughout the term of the loan.
  • A repayment holiday of up to six months, which was only available once during the term.

Other financial support provided to businesses included:

Job Retention Scheme – Paid in the form of grants to pay 80% of the salaries of furloughed employees.

New Restart Grants – A one-off cash grant of up to £18,000 for businesses re-opening from April 2021, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, gyms, salons and clubs.

Business Rates Holidays – Business rates were cancelled for all retail, leisure and hospitality businesses for the tax year 2020-21 and up to June 2021, with a discounted rate for the remainder of the tax year.

Recovery Loan Scheme – This has replaced the BBLS and allows businesses to apply for between £25,000 and £10m. The government has given lenders an 80% guarantee for these loan repayments.

There have also been other schemes for different types of businesses, some made available through local authorities.

Commercial Finance Landscape Has Changed – Conclusion

COVID-19 has completely changed the landscape for commercial finance, particularly as the government has been compelled to step in to help save businesses from closure or building up unmanageable debts.

Lenders have been able to provide loans under the schemes with the security of knowing that the repayments are guaranteed by the government, which has helped them to continue providing finance to businesses when the risk to them is extremely high.

The success of the UK vaccination programme has already had a significant impact on economic recovery in the UK and the combination of this, along with the support that the government has provided will certainly have saved many businesses which otherwise would have gone into administration.

Experts are predicting that over the next few years should hopefully see a shift back towards the type of commercial finance products that were available pre-COVID, albeit with stricter lending criteria until we see a full economic recovery.

Commercial Finance Network is a specialist Commercial Finance Broker offering all types of commercial finance to SMEs along with individual investors. Get in touch today via either our Contact Form or call us on 03303 112 646.

Commercial Business Finance – The Rise of AI In The Banking and Lending Circles

June, 2017 archives: “Artificial intelligence can help people make faster, better, and cheaper decisions. But you have to be willing to collaborate with the machine, and not just treat it as either a servant or an overlord,” says Anand Rao, PwC Innovation Lead, Analytics.

The quote neatly sums up our relationship with AI technology. Although we appreciate its potential, we feel edgy about its power and possibilities. However, despite this, it’s pervading our lives as consumers, whether we like it or not. Every time we receive a marketing email or product recommendation, we can be sure the algorithms have been at work and we are far from the random target.

Despite its image of being cautious and conservative, the banking industry as a whole appears to have had few qualms about adopting the technology – and it seems that, as consumers, we are happy with this. A mammoth survey of around 33,000 consumers by Accenture found that more than 70 percent of us would be willing to receive computer-generated banking advice. “Automated servicing can be the sole source of data from some customers, even when making complex decisions around products,” says the report.

One of the main uses of AI so far has been in customer service. Chatbots are becoming the de facto alternative to banking apps. This use AI to simulate conversion through written or spoken text. Just as Amazon has humanised its digital assistant by calling it Alexa, so has the Nordic banking group Swedbank created ‘Nina’. This chatbot is clearly popular; within three months of being deployed, Nina was averaging around 30,000 conversations per month.

However, this is the sharp end of AI – the human/machine interface mainly used in the consumer-facing world of retail banks. But how does – or will – AI play out in a commercial finance environment?

The business sector is understandably more cautious, prudent perhaps, about adopting new technologies until they have matured. But as millennials take up more senior roles in the commercial banking world, they will be increasingly pushing for the rich functionality they know as consumers to also be integrated into their working environment.

Today, we are seeing signs that adoption rates of AI-based technology are set to take off in business banking too. More and more banks are borrowing retail banking experience to build out their commercial and business strategies. But while the focus of its use in the retail banking world has mainly been for customer service and sales applications, in commercial banking, use cases (initially at least) are likely to be more around streamlining operational processes.

In a sense, AI as it stands today, in this environment is all about automation, about making processes faster and more efficient. And there are a raft of applications here where automation is having a hugely positive impact.

Take the introduction of digital expenses platforms and integrated payments tools, both of which have the potential to significantly improve a business’s approach to how it manages cash flow. By having an immediate oversight, through live reporting of all spending from business cards and invoice payments, as well as balances and credit limits across departments and individuals, businesses can foresee potential problems more quickly and react accordingly. All these services become even more powerful when combined with technologies like machine learning, data analytics and task automation.

We are already seeing growing instances of AI and automation being used to streamline payment processes in banks. Cards can be cancelled or at least suspended quickly and easily and without the need to contact the issuing bank, while invoices can also be automated, to streamline business payments. This means businesses can effectively keep hold of money longer and at the same time pay creditors more quickly. Moving beyond straightforward invoice processing, intelligent payment systems can be deployed to maximise this use of company credit lines automatically.

Looking ahead, we see a string of applications for AI in the payments management field around analysing data with the end objective of spotting anomalies in it. With the short and frequent batches of payments data used within most enterprises today, it is unlikely that even the best-trained administrator would be able to spot transactions that were out of the normal pattern. The latest AI technology could be used here to tease out anomalies and pinpoint unusual patterns or trends in spending that could then be investigated and addressed.

While this area remains in its infancy within the banking and financial services sector, with technology advancing, financial services organisations and the enterprise customers they deal with will in the future will be well placed to make active use of AI that will help clients track not just what they have been spending historically but also to predict what they are likely to spend in the future. AI will ultimately enable businesses to move from reactive historical reporting to proactive anticipation of likely future trends.

Source: Russell Bennett, chief technology officer, Fraedom

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More adverse credit homebuyers seeking advice

57% of homebuyers with adverse credit would seek the advice of a broker to find the right mortgage, up from 40% six months ago, according to recent research carried out by YouGov on behalf of Pepper Money.

The study found that 57% of all adults who have experienced adverse credit in the last three years and are intending to purchase a property in the next 12 months would go to a mortgage broker to source a mortgage for them.

When it comes to finding a broker, 54% say they would carry out online research, which is up from 49% in the last report.

34% say they have an existing relationship with a mortgage broker, down from 44% last autumn and 48% would ask friends and family for recommendations, which is up from 36%.

Paul Adams (pictured), sales director at Pepper Money, said: “It is very encouraging that a growing number of people with specialist mortgage requirements understand the benefits of seeking professional advice, and we have seen a real surge in awareness over the last six months.

“We have also seen an increase in the number of people who would go online to find a broker and also a decrease in the number of people who say they have an existing relationship with a broker. This could possibly be due to an increase in the number of first-time buyers. Whatever the reason, it is clear that there is significant opportunity for brokers with a strong online presence to take on new clients.

“There are, however, still many potential homebuyers with adverse credit, who would go directly to a high street lender or seek advice from friends and family and these avenues may lead to them thinking that they have no opportunities to secure a mortgage. So, we still have plenty of work to do to raise awareness and understanding amongst customers, and potential clients for brokers.”

By Kevin Rose

Source: Best Advice

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Brokers unsatisfied with how lenders handle adverse credit

Brokers are least satisfied with how lenders handle adverse credit and commercial buy-to-let cases, Smart Money People has found.

Following broker feedback in its Mortgage Lender Benchmark, broker satisfaction with mortgage lenders’ handling of adverse credit cases is 74.6%, rising to 77.1% for commercial buy-to-let cases.

The average satisfaction across all mortgage case types is 81.1%.

Nate Harwood, co-founder of Smart Money People, said: “Brokers appreciate that adverse credit and commercial buy-to-let cases are trickier and more specialist in nature.

“That said, they’re not prepared to cut lenders operating in these areas any slack.

“And with some 1.3 million people with adverse credit expected to be looking for a mortgage in the next year, how lenders handle adverse credit cases in particular, really does matter.”

When it comes to adverse credit cases, brokers are particularly dissatisfied with the speed to process applications through to offer.

The average adverse credit lender received a 59% rating around speed, 15% lower than the average across all cases (74%).

Broker satisfaction with the ease of determining the maximum loan amount is another key weak spot, and stands at 76% which is 7% lower than the average (83%).

Meanwhile, the ease of determining product eligibility proved to be the key point for brokers leaving feedback for commercial buy-to-let lenders.

The average commercial buy-to-let lender satisfaction rating is 77%, some 4% lower than the average seen across all cases (81%) and 2% lower than residential buy-to-let cases.

The research has also identified the highest rated lenders for adverse credit and commercial buy-to-let cases.

Brokers highlighted the best adverse credit lenders as Bluestone, Pepper Money, Precise Mortgages, The Mortgage Lender and Aldermore.

Furthermore, the top commercial buy-to-let lenders according to brokers are BM Solutions, Leeds Building Society, The Mortgage Works, Kent Reliance and Precise Mortgages.

By Michael Lloyd

Source: Mortgage Introducer