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| Ask the Expert
What do I need to consider when I am seeking funding for growth? The first thing to note is that there is plenty of money available for companies that are seeking finance to grow. e are ten years on from the financial crash of 2008, and there is a real appetite to lend among investors. However, the key thing to do before you approach lenders like the banks or ArchOver, is to have a plan. What you shouldn’t be doing is approaching a lender with a half formed idea, and just a notion that you need money. What we are looking for at ArchOver, as a facilitator of lending, is a management team that has thought their idea through rather than rushing to secure funding before they are ready. There is a lot to be said for waiting until the time is right. At ArchOver, we need to see evidence of a business that has gone
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through that thought process. They may have lived with an idea for twenty years and know everything about it, and believe that it will work, but what you must remember is that we come to it cold and we need to see a business plan that explains the idea clearly. Businesses seeking funding need to show that they have answered a series of questions relating to how they will invest the money. What is their market? What do they want to achieve? How many new customers are they seeking? Have they thought about how they are going to market their business? These are the questions we need to see answered before we will consider facilitating a loan. It may be a good idea to take one of the many business plan
formats available to download online. They take you through the questions and help you provide the answers. One I have used a number of times is the one provided by the Prince’s Trust. At ArchOver, we are keen to facilitate loans to businesses seeking to grow but we only do so when we see the evidence of planning. Companies that borrow over the ArchOver platform are UK-based, have been trading for a minimum of two years, are seeking a minimum loan of £250,000, have an established management team and have assets against which the loan can be secured. What we don’t do is take personal guarantees as we believe that business should be kept separate from one’s personal life.
Loans are for any business purpose, typically raising working capital, replacing invoice discounting, factoring or bank overdrafts. All loans are fixed term, for a fixed amount and at a fixed rate
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At ArchOver, we are keen to facilitate loans to businesses seeking to grow but we only do so when we see the evidence of planning.
Angus Dent, CEO of ArchOver. ArchOver is a Peer-to-Peer business lending service, connecting businesses requiring finance with investors seeking a secure and favourable return. To date, it has facilitated over £70m of funding for UK businesses, delivering lender returns of up to 10% p.a.. ArchOver is a member of the long-established, privately-owned Hampden group, and is fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Connecting businesses requiring finance with investors seeking a secure and favourable return
archover.com ArchOver is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority 723755 Capital at risk
July 2018
of interest. Providing a personal service is at the heart of we do. Whether you are a borrower or a lender, we listen and engage so we can be as helpful as possible.
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