Borrowed Time
How to source vital funds for your growing business
T
his guide will provide a general overview of many of the types of business funding now available in the marketplace, and in subsequent issues we will look at these in more detail. The aim is to help you to make informed choices on the finance options available for your business and to let you know what information any funder is likely to ask you to provide. There are many forms of finance available to SMEs, available from Banks like NatWest, as well as sources of non-bank finance. Indeed there is perhaps more choice and availability than for many years and with low base rate and the Funding for Lending Scheme, borrowing costs for some types of finance are at historic low levels. Whatever the wider economy does, access to funding will remain important but access to expertise is vital. Running a small business can be lonely and is certainly demanding, even in the good times. These guides aim to provide support to local businesses, allowing you to make informed choices for your business. At NatWest we have also committed to do the following things to help SMEs that are thinking about accessing funding for business growth: • We will write to thousands more SMEs setting out clearly how much we are willing to lend to their business. We have already offered £6.5 billion of lending opportunities this way and following the positive response to these letters we are now extending the programme. • A dedicated website will be developed to show clearly what information NatWest uses to make a lending decision and set out simple, clear steps in its lending process. • The bank will begin work to enable bankers to make all but the most complex lending decisions in just five days of receipt of all necessary information – this process can
18│ February/march 2014
currently take weeks and months in some instances. • NatWest will ensure two thirds of its lending decisions are made locally and by sector specialists. • We will continue to invest in building the capability of our people with at least 90% of Relationship Managers and Credit Managers professionally qualified. • NatWest will start a programme to make all customers whose loan applications are declined aware of the appeals process, and will continue to work with the Independent Appeals Chair to improve the support it provides to customers going though this process. • The bank will commit to pointing businesses to alternative sources of finance where it cannot support a loan application. Whilst the economic outlook remains challenging we are now seeing sustained growth with reasonable expectations that this will continue through and beyond 2014. Sussex is a great place to live and to do business, with the local economy outperforming the national picture. Even during the recession I saw many examples of Sussex businesses looking after their customers and being successful. Across the County there is a great diversity of businesses and a culture of entrepreneurial flair. The banking sector, including me and my team of independently accredited Relationship Managers at NatWest, is committed to helping Sussex businesses continue to flourish. I hope that you find these guides helpful and that you have a successful and prosperous 2014.
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Over the coming issues, Robert Clare, NatWest Regional Director for Sussex and Surrey & South West London, will present a comprehensive guide to sourcing funds for businesses of all sizes.