Category: Brexit

What are the benefits of using hire purchase?

Need to purchase an asset, but don’t have the money to buy it upfront? Take out a hire purchase agreement to receive the asset now and pay for it in affordable instalments. 

Hire purchase is a popular type of asset finance popularly used by businesses to buy vehicles, machinery and equipment.

Whilst you are still paying for the asset, the creditor is the legal owner, but once you’ve finished your payment plan it’s all yours.

Here are just a few of the benefits of buying an asset using a hire purchase agreement:

No need to pay a large sum of money upfront– Whilst you may be required to put down a small deposit, the cost will be nothing like paying for the asset upfront. This is particularly useful if it’s a large and unexpected cost, like a vehicle or key piece of machinery breaks down.

Flexible and affordable payments– Hire purchase allows you to spread the cost of the asset over a set period, so you’re paying off a small, affordable sum each month.

Protect your cashflow – Spreading the cost helps you to look after your business’ cashflow. Healthy cashflow is essential for developing and growing your business.

Own the item at the end of the payment plan – At the end of the payment plan, the asset is yours to keep!

Immediate use of the item – You can start using the asset immediately, meaning no expensive downtime whilst you save up the funds.

High quality asset– Many businesses find that they are able to afford vehicles and equipment of a much higher quality and specification through hire purchase than they would have if they were paying upfront. 

Fixed interest rates– Hire purchase interest rates are fixed, meaning no uncertainty on costs, helping you to keep your cashflow stable.

 No VAT on monthly repayments– VAT is paid upfront by you along with any deposit required. You will then re-claim the VAT in your regular payments.

For more information about our hire purchase agreements, or to discuss your requirements in more detail, give our team here at Richmond Asset Finance a call on 0113 288 3277.

More property investors using bridging loans

Recent statistics show that the demand for bridging loans is continuing to grow, particularly in the property investment market.

Whilst property investors may be shunning commercial properties amidst Brexit uncertainty, the market for residential property investment in the UK is still booming.

Recent figures show that investment in UK residential property rose by a huge 150% in 2018.

Tighter mortgage lending criteria has created a higher demand for rental properties. The high demand has caused a shortage of rental properties, allowing landlords to charge higher rent. These factors combined with a slight decrease in property value have made residential buy-to-let properties a valuable investment.

As more property investors seek opportunities to buy properties in the residential sector, the demand for bridging loans has also increased.

In fact, the latest ‘Bridging Trends’ report found that for the second consecutive quarter the commonest use of bridging finance was to buy investment property.

According to the report, 25% of bridging loans were taken out to fund the purchase of investment property, that’s up from 22% in the first quarter. 

Bridging finance is the ideal solution for property investors looking to grow their portfolio as it allows them to move on a purchase quickly whilst the price is low. Without access to a bridging loan it is easy to miss opportunities whilst trying to raise funds.

Here at Richmond Asset Finance we provide flexible commercial bridging loanssuitable for property investment, buy-to-let, and land purchase and development.

For more information about our commercial bridging loans, or to discuss your requirements in more detail, give our team of experts a call on 0113 288 3277 and we’ll be happy to help.

How farm finance products can help farms become more sustainable

The farming industry is under increasing pressure to operate more sustainably. Here’s how farm finance products can help farmers to achieve this goal.

Sustainability, climate change, and animal welfare are all hot topics. As vegan and vegetarian diets grow in popularity, more people are becoming interested in the environmental impact of agriculture, particularly the farming of cattle for beef. 

What is sustainability?

To be sustainable is to look after the environment and renew resources at a rate equal to or in excess of the rate at which you use them. In order to become more sustainable, farmers must adopt environmentally friendly practices and find ways to improve the efficiency of their processes.

Which areas of farming can this be applied to?

When looking at the way you run your farm there are likely to be many areas where you could make improvements to become more efficient and sustainable.

Just a few areas you may identify include:

  • Feeding livestock.
  • Breeding livestock.
  • Manure management.
  • Looking after soil.
  • Tools, tech, and machinery.

Tools and equipment for agricultural sustainability

As well as changing and improving existing processes, farm machinery and equipment play an important role in a farm’s sustainability.

If you are using old or outdated machinery, upgrading could lower your farm’s environmental impact. Modern machinery is often built to be more intelligent and efficient with sustainability in mind.

Just a few sustainability problems that modern machinery can solve include:

  • Machinery that produces fewer emissions.
  • Machinery that consumes less power and uses fewer resources.
  • Machinery that can apply chemicals with greater precision.
  • Micro-sprinklers and drip irrigation technologies to save water.
  • Smart technology like crop sensors and drones to improve efficiency of processes.

Farm finance products to fund sustainability

Adopting modern farm machinery isn’t just about being kinder to the environment, it also makes good business sense. Working smarter and more efficiently will also help to save you time and money, making modern farm machinery and technology an excellent investment for the future.

If you need help financing new farm equipment, then there are a variety of farm finance products on the market to choose from. The farm finance product suitable for you will depend on your current situation. 

Get in touch with our team of specialists here at Richmond Asset Finance for free farm finance help and advice by calling us on 0113 288 3277 to discuss your requirements in more detail.

Why Is The Machine Finance Market Growing?

Machines are critical to growth in the manufacturing sector but they are often expensive and can eat into business profits without some form of financial help.

Traditionally business owners turn to the bank to provide straightforward business loans to help if there is insufficient cash in the business to purchase machines. Even if there is enough cash to buy a machine, a loan can be a more sensible way to buy equipment particularly if there is risk attached in making large investments as there often is in business. However, business loans from banks also come at a cost and interest rates can be high.

Having multiple loans can also leave a business vulnerable in a downturn and restrict any cash flow available to grow the business. Machine finance is growing in popularity because it unlocks funding when you need it.

So if your business requires a new machine that will cut down the amount of manual labour required to get jobs done such as a CNC machine, machine finance can help you acquire that machinery at a minimum upfront cost.

This means you get the benefit of improved efficiency and profitability while spreading the cost. It can also be tax efficient now that the government has increased the annual investment allowance. So it comes as no surprise that the machine finance sector has grown 9% year on year.

Is It Possible to Get a Business Loan with Bad Credit?

Often one of the biggest barriers to small business and start up founders getting a business loan is a poor credit rating. So, if you have been turned down for a loan because you have bad credit let’s look into ways it may be possible to gain funding for your business even if you have a bad credit rating.

Find out why you have a bad credit record
Review your credit score online and find out what may be causing the problem. A poor credit score can come as a surprise and the first thing you know about it is when you are refused a loan. Sometimes the cause can be rectified if for example there are some discrepancies in addresses, your name isn’t on the electoral roll or if you have missed credit card payments.

Research lenders willing to provide loans to people with below average credit scores
Some lenders will consider business owners with below average credit scores so it is worth doing some research to find them. If your credit score is below 500 this can start to make life difficult and lenders willing to take the risk on you will become harder to find the lower your score is.

Look to alternative sources of finance that won’t require a good credit score
You may find there are plenty of alternatives available when it comes to finding funding for your business. Friends and family might be one avenue if they are understanding and supportive or asset finance could be an option.

Work to improve your credit score
Your credit score isn’t set in stone and it can improve significantly if you pay all your bills on time and avoid running up debts. Taking out smaller loans and using a credit can actually help improve your rating if you are sensible about making more than the recommended monthly repayments.

Brexit Increases the Importance of Asset Finance to Businesses

The asset based finance industry has been growing at an impressive rate in recent years and Brexit will do little to put the brakes on that growth as uncertainty about the economy weighs heavy on business owners’ minds.

It is now more important than ever that businesses plan finances in preparation for an uncertain future. It is also understandable that many will be cutting back on investment in new staff and acquisitions until the impact of Brexit on the economy becomes a bit more clear.

The immediate impact of Brexit on businesses is for now confined to sentiment. This sentiment may well snowball into a new recession that affects everyone. If one business reduces its investment, then it is inevitable that suppliers will be affected.

For cautious business owners, now may be a good time to look at asset based finance which can help fund new equipment purchases when liquidity needs to be preserved.

The costs for businesses that buy raw materials outside the UK will find that their margins will become more and more squeezed with each drop in the value of sterling. While the pound’s fall in value will benefit exports, it will also push up inflation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it will all turn out okay in the end!