Financing new business equipment by Philip King of ICM on 14-Nov-2011

A new guide that provides essential advice for SMEs investing in vital but expensive business equipment has been published by the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) as part of its highly successful ‘Managing Cashflow’ series.

The guide provides tips on the financial assistance that is available for businesses looking to purchase new equipment. It also discusses the possible advantages of those options for the businesses that manufacture and distribute such equipment, increasing their sales by helping customers to invest even when cashflow is limited. It has been produced in association with the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) and the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB).

"Around 750,000 businesses use equipment finance through leasing or hire purchase agreements to help them to obtain vital business equipment without having to find all the cash up-front," says Julian Rose, Head of Asset Finance for the FLA. "This short guide should help businesses leasing equipment themselves, as well as manufacturers and distributors wanting to help their customers afford new equipment when cash is tight."

According to figures issued by the FLA, asset finance providers lent more than £80 million every day to businesses throughout the second quarter of 2011, allowing them to invest in vital equipment. In addition, the most recent FLA quarterly survey showed that while asset finance lenders were less confident about the short-term outlook for the economy as a whole than they were three months ago, they were more confident that conditions in the equipment finance market would improve.

"Our national organisation of Commercial Finance Brokers is able to access all the Asset Finance providers in the UK and as such can offer any business a wide choice of different funding options," says Adam Tyler, Chief Executive of the NACFB. "Over the last year we have seen a real increase in business written by our members as the need for professional advice increases across the SME sector."

According to Philip King, Chief Executive of the ICM, this guide will complement the ten existing guides that the ICM has already produced for the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS): "The series has proven very popular with SMEs and has now seen over a quarter of a million downloads, suggesting that our business tips are hitting all the right notes with the target audience," he says.

"I think that this new guide on investing in equipment will prove equally useful and pertinent to SMEs that are looking for prudent financial advice during what is proving to be a tricky economic period for those businesses."

For further information on this new guide, titled ‘Managing cash when it’s time to invest’, please visit: www.creditmanagement.org.uk/

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