FlexABL Joins NACFB: Expanding Our Support for Brokers and Small Businesses Across the UK 

FlexABL is thrilled to announce that we are now a proud Patron of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers.

This membership signifies our commitment to providing commercial finance brokers with reliable, flexible finance solutions to better serve their clients and support business growth across the UK. 

At FlexABL, we understand only too well the challenges business owners face on a daily basis- especially around managing cash flow due to late payments. The UK needs small businesses more than ever and our mission is to by offering a seamless invoice finance service, empowering businesses to grow without financial strain. 

Joining the NACFB allows us to connect with an even broader network of brokers nationwide, strengthening our partnerships and helping more small businesses thrive. We believe in building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with brokers, leading to long-term partnerships. 

As an NACFB member, we look forward to sharing our expertise and insights to not only NACFB brokers but also the organisation’s wider network and community. For brokers looking to grow their network and provide clients with a financing solution they can trust, FlexABL is here to help.  

Paul Stokes, FlexABL Director at FlexABL on the opportunity of working with NACFB members:

We believe in building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with business advisers, leading to long-term, value-driven partnerships. By becoming a patron lender of the NACFB, we reinforce our commitment to the intermediary-led commercial finance sector and the SMEs they support, building on our existing collaboration with a wide network of reputable brokers

Norman Chambers, NACFB Managing Director, had this to say about us joining as a NACFB Patron: 

We are delighted to welcome FlexABL as a patron. Their name reflects their offering. Accessing working capital is a key requirement of small businesses and our members are always keen to work with invoice finance solution providers that can help SMEs release cash from unpaid invoices.

If you’re reading this and you’re a broker, we’d love to discuss how FlexABL can be the right partner for your clients’ financing needs. Contact us to find out more.  

Budget 2024: How Small Businesses Can Stay Resilient Amid Economic Shifts

The recent UK Budget introduces a mix of support measures and challenges for small business owners. As the economy faces rising interest rates, energy costs, and changes to tax policy, small businesses are under pressure to adapt quickly. In these uncertain times, maintaining financial flexibility is essential, and that’s where solutions like invoice finance come in, offering a way to stabilise cash flow and stay prepared.

Understanding the Key Challenges Ahead

The 2024 budget affects several areas crucial to small businesses. Here are some of the main challenges business owners may face:

1. Business Rates Relief and Revaluation:
– Relief programs have been extended, especially for sectors like retail, hospitality, and leisure. While this offers some respite from property costs, not all businesses qualify. Those ineligible may still face significant overheads, impacting their cash flow.

2. Tax and NI Adjustments:
– Updates to National Insurance and other tax contributions will impact payroll costs. Small businesses with multiple employees may need to adjust their budgets, which could limit resources available for other critical investments.

3. Energy Bill Support for Businesses:
– Energy costs remain high, though government subsidies offer some relief, especially for energy-intensive industries like manufacturing and hospitality. However, businesses still need to budget carefully, as energy prices remain unpredictable.

4. Delayed Payments and Cash Flow Woes:
– Many small businesses continue to struggle with late payments, a situation likely to worsen in a slowing economy. This issue can severely impact cash flow, making it harder for businesses to cover operating costs or seize growth opportunities.

Cash Is King

Given these challenges, tracking cash flow has never been more critical. While it’s hard to predict how the economic climate will shift over the coming months, staying on top of working capital is vital for financial resilience. Invoice finance solutions provide stability, enabling businesses to access the funds tied up in unpaid invoices. This ensures a steady cash flow and helps businesses navigate the complexities introduced by the budget.

Flexible and Scalable Solutions

Unlike traditional loans, invoice finance scales with your business. As your business grows and you issue more invoices, you can access more funding. This flexibility ensures businesses can meet increased demand or address unexpected expenses, providing the financial adaptability that today’s economic landscape demands.

Mitigating the Risk of Late Payments

Late payments are a persistent issue for SMEs, and in uncertain economic times, the problem may worsen. With invoice finance, businesses can transfer the risk of non-payment to the finance provider, as many options include credit control and collections services. This reduces administrative burdens, allowing owners to focus on core business activities instead of chasing overdue payments.

Preparing for Future Opportunities

With the new budget in place, businesses that remain agile and adaptable will be better positioned to seize new opportunities. Having immediate access to funds ensures that small businesses can respond to changing circumstances and capitalise on growth opportunities or react swiftly to regulatory changes.

Final Thoughts

The Budget 2024 brings both support and challenges for small businesses. However, companies that plan ahead and leverage financial tools like invoice finance will be better equipped to navigate the path ahead. At FlexABL, we’re committed to empowering small businesses with the resources they need to thrive.

If you’re concerned about how the budget could impact your cash flow, reach out to us. Our team is ready to explore options with you, ensuring your business stays resilient and prepared for whatever comes next.

2024 – Signs of economic recovery but still reasons to be cautious

In an era of rapid technological innovation and unprecedented opportunities, the financial landscape for SMEs is evolving at breakneck speed. While 2024 is shaping up to be a banner year for startups, with record numbers of new ventures emerging across the UK, there’s one subject that goes beyond the excitement of entrepreneurship and delves into the challenges that lie ahead for SMEs and lenders

Firstly, we kick off the conversation with a new initiative that has been making headlines, and it’s the SME Finance Taskforce’s coalition plan .

The plan is based on a report from the Centre for Finance, Innovation, and Technology (CFIT), and a key objective is exploring how smart data can be used to unlock better lending options for SMEs. The Taskforce is hoping that it will reshape how businesses access the financing they need. On the face of things, this could lead to greater choice for SMEs, when it comes to raising finance, possibly increasing the prevalence of Fintech lenders. However, will business owners see this use of shared Big Data across lenders, credit reference agencies and Government bodies such as HMRC and Companies House, as more like Big Brother?

Furthermore, as a lender, we place a large emphasis on the experience and character of directors, along with their future plans, when deciding whether to support a business, something that no amount of historic data can assess.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this. The seemingly unstoppable advances in automation, and particularly AI, are going to continue to transform our lives, but is the SME community ready for, or even prepared to accept, this level of transparency? How far is this initiative expected go, in terms of open data and will it really benefit SMEs, as proposed, or just make it easier for lenders to assess potential new business opportunities? At Flex, we love the benefits of automation and all things digital, but at heart we still much prefer Human Intelligence to the Artificial kind.

Moving on to another big subject in the news, the UK is witnessing a promising upturn in entrepreneurship, with Beauhurst reporting that 2024 is seeing a marked increase in new business start-ups in the UK. With 468,000 new firms launched in the first half of the year alone, it’s clear that more people than ever are ready to take the plunge into the world of business ownership, which can only be good news for UK plc.

It seems, therefore, that business owners need someone in their corner more than ever. We set up FlexABL with a vision of being a lender that is easy to do business with, by creating a culture where business owners are respected and valued for the contribution they make to the UK economy. We spend time with our clients to truly understand their businesses, so we’re then able to deliver a bespoke, personalised service.  For the foreseeable future, we can’t see fully digital offerings replacing that level of relationship and communication.

Finally, let’s talk about the bigger picture. The UK economy, particularly the services sector, has shown impressive resilience despite the challenges faced. In July, we saw a notable uptick in activity, which is great news for the country. This growth suggests that there will be continued demand and opportunities for expansion. But let’s not get too comfortable – economic uncertainties still loom large, with Keir Starmer saying the financial situation the new Government inherited is “worse than we ever imagined” and stating that life in the UK is “going to get worse, before it gets better.” We await the October budget with interest.

In the face of continued general uncertainty, it’s more important than ever for business owners to have a secure and reliable financial partner. At FlexABL, we’re not just focused on the here and now; we’re looking ahead, helping our clients prepare for whatever the future might bring. Whether the economy is booming or facing headwinds, we can be counted on to provide our clients with the support they need.

So, if you are a business owner looking for a cashflow lender who understands the unique challenges you face, we encourage you to get in touch. We’re here to help you drive your business forwards and navigate ever-changing conditions and challenges.

SME Funding – Is It Really That Difficult To Raise?

According to recent findings by the British Chambers of Commerce, nearly half (49%) of SMEs surveyed find it increasingly difficult to secure funding, with cash flow being the primary reason for seeking finance. But why?

As a lender we have never faced stronger competitive headwinds, not only from traditional invoice finance lenders, but non-bank loan providers, tech-based hybrid working capital providers and the like. From a lender’s perspective it seems to us that business owners have never had more choice, when it comes to funding.

What’s going on?

We talk about funding SMEs, but the term covers a very broad church. The Government currently defines Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as follows:

According to official statistics from gov.uk:

• There were almost 5.6 million businesses in the UK at the start of 2021, 5.5 million of which were classified as Small or Micro – 99.2%.
• 2 million of these businesses did not employ anyone, aside from the owners.
• SMEs employed 61% of the private sector workforce, some 16.3 million employees;
• They also earned 52% of UK plc, equivalent to £2,300 billion.

Although these statistics are somewhat dated now, I can’t believe the optics will have changed significantly over the last 3 years.

We know that many SMEs are facing economic challenges, making it essential for them to have access to reliable financial support. While confidence in the business community is cautiously growing generally, there are still high levels of business failures, and the evidence suggests that HMRC are taking a less lenient approach to arrears and Time To Pay arrangements.

When we meet under-pressure business owners who say to us that they didn’t realise Invoice Finance existed as a product, we still scratch our heads.

There are so many funding options available to business owners at any stage in the business lifecycle, as a quick scroll through LinkedIn will demonstrate. Invoice Finance is (obviously) a fantastic solution for funding working capital. There are also some great non-bank lenders out there, including a nationwide network of Regional Community Development Finance Institutions, providing loans to businesses where the main banks can’t assist.

In the West Midlands alone we are lucky enough to have ART and BCRS Business Loans, in addition to other non-bank regional lenders such as Frontier Development Capital and UKSE. On the business start-up front, Biz Britain are a national delivery partner of the Start Up Loans Scheme. These are the unsung heroes of the SME funding landscape and as a working capital funder, we work alongside them to deliver packaged funding solutions when the main banks cannot assist.

Of course, the fundamentals need to be there for any lender to assist a business: responsible directors, a viable business and a solid financial plan. This is sometimes where business owners let themselves down, through inadequate preparation and organisation, but in most cases, this can be overcome, with a good advisor by their side to guide them through the application process.

Access to finance is vital for the growth and sustainability of SMEs. The challenges highlighted by the research underscores the importance of reliable financial partners.

All we can do as lenders and advisors to business owners, is to keep banging the drum that support and funding is out there. The bottom line is that there are lots of great lenders about, who are only too willing to engage with business owners and their advisors, to find solutions.

Click here for more information about how FlexABL can support owner managed businesses, with a working capital borrowing requirement of up to £500k.

Empowering Conservation: Flexabl’s Donation to Misool Foundation in Indonesia

In a world where corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly vital, FlexABL has stepped up to make a meaningful difference. Recently, we made a significant contribution to the Misool Foundation, an organisation dedicated to safeguarding biodiverse reefs on Earth through the empowerment of local communities, in Indonesia. This partnership not only showcases FlexABL’s commitment to environmental conservation but also highlights the power of collaboration in creating positive change.

The Misool Foundation, situated in Indonesia, operates in one of the most ecologically diverse regions on the planet. Their mission transcends conventional conservation efforts by actively involving and empowering local communities in marine protection initiatives. By providing educational programs, sustainable livelihood opportunities, and fostering community engagement, the foundation strives to create a sustainable future where humans and nature coexist harmoniously.

One of our key investors was fortunate enough to visit Misool in 2023, to experience, first hand, the fantastic achievement and turnaround in the marine environment at Raj Ampat. He felt, going forward, we should try to help in some small way, as this project has made such a massive contribution over recent years to the area, people and their continued education to protect and save the planet.

FlexABL’s donation of laptops to the Misool Foundation aligns perfectly with both organisations’ values. These will serve as invaluable tools for the foundation’s community outreach programs, educational initiatives, and administrative tasks. With access to better technology, the Misool Foundation can enhance their efficiency, broaden their reach, and streamline their operations, ultimately maximising their impact on marine conservation efforts.

Jo Marlow from the Misool Foundation expressed her gratitude, saying:

“We were thrilled to receive the donation of laptops from FlexABL which will be repurposed for use by the Misool Foundation team in Indonesia. A well-equipped office is critical to support our suite of programmes that have been created to protect one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth. Thanks, FlexABL for your support.”

Misool Foundation’s office management team

But this partnership goes beyond a simple donation; it represents a shared vision of corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship. Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond this as we recognise the importance of minimising our environmental footprint and promoting eco-friendly practices throughout our operations. We hope through partnerships like this, other organisations leverage their resources and expertise, as many already do, to drive positive change and inspire others to do the same.

Be sure to check out the Misool Foundation here to see the great work they are doing to safeguard marine life. Also, keep a look out for further environmental and sustainable initiatives we have coming up!