Manufacturers asked to consider invoice and asset funding by Close Brothers Asset Finance

According to a recent Close Business Barometer (a quarterly independent survey of businesses across the UK), 38% of SME owners in the country had been turned down for finance this year, with another 38.5% not even bothering to approach their banks for fear of being rejected. Some 15.4% don't go near their bank, as they're afraid of having their overdraft facility reduced or the cost of it increased, the survey further revealed. Steven Gee, managing director of Close Brothers Asset Finance's manufacturing division is urging manufacturers to draw upon asset and invoice finance to not only manage their cash flow, but also bolster current promising manufacturing growth levels. "We are working with more and more forward-thinking companies who are utilising assets within their company to not only release vital cash flow, but to make investments in personnel, equipment and much-needed business development. "This type of 'asset based finance' has now become a mainstream option but can additionally complement companies' existing funding arrangements." Invoice finance enables companies to release funds against their sales ledger, allowing them to receive up to 95% of the value of an invoice as soon as it is raised, while asset finance (leasing, hire purchase and refinancing) releases the value of assets, such as plant and machinery that a company already owns to support funding for new assets. "Savvy businesses need to know that there are other funding options available to them and by working with us they can ensure that the boost to manufacturing is not just a short-term gain," says Mr Gee.