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June 25, 2020

Schoolbooks.ie raises €100,000 through Linked Finance during the coronavirus crisis

Schoolbooks.ie, based in Tralee, Co. Kerry, has raised over €100,000 from Linked Finance, Ireland’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P) lender. As Ireland’s largest online retailer of schoolbooks, the funds raised have been used by the company to increase its art, craft and school-book stock to cater for increased demand as parents have coped with home-schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the three months since the beginning of March, Irish SMEs have raised working capital and investment funding worth over €5.2m from Linked Finance since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

Schoolbooks.ie saw increased demand for its products as a result of school closures during the coronavirus pandemic which saw thousands of parents across the country home-schooling their children.

choolbooks.ie stock a wide range of school books, art supplies and craft materials to keep children entertained and learning from home. Given the size and urgency of these orders, Schoolbooks.ie sought access to fast and affordable funds to fulfil orders and replenish stock.

Established in 2004, Schoolbooks.ie is Irish owned and works to take the hassle out of buying school books and bring better value to parents. This is the third loan Schoolbooks.ie has used Linked Finance to raise funds to expand its business.

Commenting on the funding, Paul McCann, managing director, Schoolbooks.ie:

“Linked Finance has been our go-to loans provider in recent years. They understand our business and the needs of SMEs and the support we’ve had from them during the Covid-19 pandemic has made a real difference. When we needed to scale up art & craft supplies and school-book stock to meet home-schooling demands during the lockdown they were there to provide the finance we needed, fast and with no hassle.”

Niall Dorrian, chief executive of Linked Finance said:

‘‘The purpose of our platform is to finance great Irish businesses like Schoolbooks.ie, and provide them with fast, easy access to funding so they can unlock the full potential of their business. The drive, innovation and resilience of Irish SMEs is essential to the recovery of the Irish economy from the shock of recent months. Our experience supporting SMEs during this crisis shows the critical importance of the next government making non-bank lenders such as Linked Finance part of the solution to support SMEs as the country reopens.”

During the current pandemic, Linked Finance has worked with businesses in 21 counties, across all sectors including medical, construction and wholesale businesses to raise capital to fulfil orders including essential supplies such as PPE equipment and scrubs.

In March, Linked Finance launched a new “Deferred Start Loan” for businesses affected by the coronavirus. The innovative 15-month loan allows businesses to borrow up to €100,000, with repayments due in 12 monthly instalments after the first 3 months, during which no interest or capital repayment will be paid.

Since its launch in 2013 Linked Finance has provided loans totalling over €135m, for more than 2,500 ambitious local businesses in every county of the country.

June 25, 2020

1pm plc drives future growth for Lowton Motor Company with £150k CBILS facility

1pm plc (“1pm”), the AIM-listed independent specialist provider of finance facilities to UK SMEs, has supported its first client under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Lowton Motor Company Limited, a family-run car dealership, secured the £150,000 CBILS loan to drive the business through the covid-19 crisis and beyond.

Incorporated in 2012, Lowton Motor Company has spent the last 8 years building a strong reputation among its client base for selling high-quality vehicles at affordable prices. Having delivered strong financial results annually, the firm reported an 8-figure turnover in 2019 and had predicted ambitious growth for 2020.

With the pandemic causing the motor finance industry to come to a standstill, the firm were unable to source and deliver vehicles to its customers, which led to an immediate disruption in their sales and cashflow. Facing an inevitable shortfall in income, the business required a cash injection.

Lowton Motor Company were introduced to the 1pm Group by Sedulo Funding Solutions Limited (“Sedulo”) who sit on 1pm’s panel of expert brokers. Through their strong relationship, Sedulo and 1pm were able to swiftly work together to tailor a funding solution that would bolster the motor firm’s cash position during this challenging time.

Alun Winter, head of loans at 1pm plc, said: “It’s a pleasure to support this fantastic family business. As government restrictions now begin to lift, we are delighted that Lowton Motor Company have a funding solution in place that will support the firm in kickstarting their operations and driving the business forward. We wish them every success on their journey.”

Paul Southern, director at Lowton Motor Company, commented: “The support from 1pm has been invaluable. Like most businesses, we had to adapt quickly to changes in operations and a reduction in cashflow when lockdown was enforced. 1pm understood the challenges we were facing and worked quickly to help us secure funding.”

Since the beginning of the covid-19 crisis, 1pm has been working hard to help its customers through this turbulent period through its portfolio of finance solutions, including asset finance, loan finance and invoice finance. The launch of the CBILS offering is another opportunity for the Group to instil reassurance and confidence back into British business through asset finance and loan facilities.

June 25, 2020

Are corporate balance sheets in Spain and Italy ready for the Covid-19 shock?

Although the second quarter of 2020 is shaping up to be the most challenging period of the year, there are now good reasons to think that the road to recovery will be long and arduous. Despite immediate tax deferrals, liquidity guarantees, it is likely that many firms will find themselves in difficulty.

According to Coface forecasts, Spain and Italy will be among the economies hardest hit by Covid-19, contracting by 12.8% and 13.6% respectively in 2020. Corporate insolvencies are expected to increase by 22% in Spain and 37% in Italy by 2021, relative to 2019 levels. For 2021, Coface forecasts that Spain and Italy’s GDP will rebound by 10.2% and 8.9%, leaving the economies 3.9% and 5.9% below 2019 levels.

Higher prevalence of vulnerable enterprises in Italy with the spectre of zombie firms
In order to assess the potential impact of this GDP contraction on company balance sheets, Coface ran simulations on the evolution of corporate solvency, using data from the Spanish and Italian central banks that accounts for differences across sectors and firm sizes.

Even though interest rates are extremely low, corporate over-indebtedness is associated with depressed private investment. As a result, the Covid-19 crisis could exert durable downward pressure on a country’s growth potential, accelerating the “Japanization” of the eurozone.

With this in mind, the balance sheets of Spanish and Italian companies should be analysed more closely. Examining the distribution of debt and liquidity in the corporate sector in Southern Europe should help to identify pockets of vulnerability.

The current financial situation of companies in Spain and Italy is healthier than on the eve of the 2009 global financial crisis. Since then, Spanish companies have managed to significantly reduce their debt by 20 percentage points, reaching 37% of their assets in the third quarter of 2019. Italian companies have also improved their financial situation since the 59% peak in Q4 2011, albeit to a lesser degree. With a debt ratio of 50%, businesses in Italy are now the most indebted among the major European economies.

The growing mismatch between financing and investment can be indicative of a high prevalence of “zombie” firms in Italy – companies steeped in debt that will not be able to sowing the seeds of future growth.

Sectors at risk: automotive, construction, and retail
Coface expects the vulnerability of firms to differ according to their sectors and size, not only in terms of the intensity of the shocks, but also given the pre-coronavirus fragility of their balance sheets.

The major car manufacturers could be in difficulty because of their habit of keeping little liquidity: at the end of 2018, cash reserves as a percentage of sales were only 2.7% in Italy and 0.5% in Spain.

As for the retail and construction sectors, with high leverage and low projected interest coverage rates, they appear particularly vulnerable, as do Italy’s small textile manufacturers.

Coface observes a higher prevalence of potentially vulnerable companies in Italy. In most cases, this can be explained by lower initial cash flow, lower profitability, and slightly slower cost adjustments. In this context, many companies would survive only at the cost of substantially higher levels of debt.

June 25, 2020

CitySwift raises additional funding

CitySwift, a leader in big data and machine learning for the public transport sector, has closed a funding round of €2m, bringing funding to date to €3.5m. The round was led by Irelandia Investments and Act Venture Capital, along with other notable transportation investors and entrepreneurs. All investors have been involved in both of CitySwift’s funding rounds.

CitySwift’s industry-leading specialist data engine is used by a number of the large listed passenger transport companies. It has recently been rolled out by National Express West Midlands – the largest bus operator in the UK outside London – and Go-Ahead Group, who have collective revenues of over €8bn, where it is being used to reduce operating costs and increase reliability. The technology has enabled an agile response to social distancing measures and lockdown restrictions arising from Covid-19 being eased – assisting the operators in planning and reacting to the new normal.

Dynamic public transport planning and optimising operations through data is set to play the main role in the recovery and new future of public transportation and mobility in cities, and CitySwift plans to be at the very foundation of this transport evolution.

Created and supported by industry experts, the CitySwift data engine uses big data and machine learning to increase network performance, service reliability and passenger satisfaction. It augments and seamlessly integrates with existing bus technology systems, providing a deeper understanding of network performance and enhanced network planning with significantly reduced timescales.

On partnering with CitySwift, Andy Foster, deputy commercial director for National Express West Midlands, states, “We decided to roll out the CitySwift platform across our entire network to help network planners and schedulers respond more quickly to changes in demand. CitySwift will help us optimise our network for the short-, medium- and long-term, so we can deliver the best and safest possible service for our customers”.

CitySwift’s latest solution, a passenger-facing bus capacity checker using AI predictions, works like Google Maps but with the added feature that passengers are able to see how busy their bus is going to be up to two weeks in advance of travelling. It generates dynamic predictions of bus loadings to inform passengers’ journey choices whilst capacities are restricted and as new travel patterns emerge. Passengers access a colour-coded timetable of bus routes, which shows which buses are likely to be busy or have space, on a stop-by-stop basis. This technology has recently been deployed across Go-Ahead Group’s entire bus operation in the UK via When2Travel.co, with other bus operators showing interest in rapidly deploying the solution to encourage passengers back onto the bus.

On When2Travel, Martijn Gilbert, managing director of Go North East, says: “What CitySwift have delivered is a more detailed and comprehensive solution than I had envisaged. I think it could be the most powerful use of big data yet in terms of aiding local bus networks and customer service. That’s a bold statement, but we are really excited about it.”

Brian O’Rourke, CitySwift co-founder and CEO comments, “One thing we’ve come to learn through Covid-19 is just how important data is – whether for businesses trying to operate, governments trying to reopen or individuals trying to understand this pandemic. This has been even more evident for public transport companies as they monitored the effects of lockdown restrictions on their networks and model and plan for future scenarios as restrictions have begun to ease. The CitySwift platform has been leveraged to enable our clients and their passengers to make informed, data-driven decisions as they navigate the road to recovery in these ever-changing times”.

CitySwift’s latest funding will speed up product development and the hiring of 25 new positions, in Ireland and remote, over the next twelve months. The hires will be across commercial and technical roles including business development, customer success, product, data science and engineering, fuelling the expansion of its business in the European market, where they are already working with a number of public authorities.

June 25, 2020

Metro Bank announce new fixed rates for personal and business customers

Interest rates will be changed across our fixed term product range for personal and business customers. New rates will be effective from 25 June 2020.

Retail Fixed

Retail FixedCurrent rateNew rateChange
3 month0.40%0.25%-0.15%
6 month0.60%0.40%-0.20%
1 Year1.00%0.80%-0.20%
18 Month1.05%0.85%-0.20%
3 Year1.10%0.90%-0.20%

 

Business Fixed Rate

Business FixedCurrent rateNew rateChange
1 month0.20%0.20%–
3 months0.30%0.30%–
6 months0.50%0.40%-0.10%
1 Year1.00%0.75%-0.25%
2 Year1.10%0.85%-0.25%

 

Community Fixed Rate

Community FixedCurrent rateNew rateChange
1 Year1.15%0.90%-0.25%

Rates effective from 25 June 2020.
Current fixed rates were withdrawn for new customers at close of business on 24 June 2020.

June 24, 2020

Cumbria View Care Services receives £100,000 NPIF & CBILS loan

Specialist social impact lender GC Business Finance (GCBF) has provided Cumbria View Care Services with a £100,000 NPIF loan, backed by CBILS from NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance, which is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).

Based in Kendal, Cumbria View Care Services provides private home care for the elderly, including palliative care, assistance with medication, domestic help and live in care to more than 100 service users. The business has been running for more than 30 years and currently employs around 60 members of staff across the Cumbria region.

The impact of Covid-19 on the business has increased its need for working capital to cover increased staff costs and the purchase of the large amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE), necessary to continue providing in-home care safely during the pandemic. The loan has allowed Cumbria View Care Services to cover these costs without affecting the service it provides.

The company is now looking to expand it’s the business to Penrith, which will allow it to service more remote areas of Cumbria.

Sayani Sainudeen, CEO of Cumbria View Care Services said: “Providing the usual standards of care during the pandemic was our number one priority, with demand for our services remaining at high levels. We needed to ensure we could safely operate and protect our staff and service users, so it was important that we were able to access funding quickly in order to cover for any enforced absences.

“Where banks were slow to respond, we found the process with GCBF was simple and we received great support. The whole team is thankful that we have been able to carry on ‘business as usual’ and we look forward to continuing to support the elderly in Cumbria.”

Chris Hutchison, senior loan manager at GC Business Finance said: “Cumbria View Care provides vital services to the most vulnerable from the pandemic, and it was key that disruption was kept to a minimum. As has been widely publicised, the care sector has been amongst the most affected by the disease, and we were glad to be able to provide the funding to ensure that the business could contain any potential outbreaks of the virus and find replacement staff.

“We are committed to helping firms across the North survive the impact of Covid-19, as well as thrive beyond this period. It is pleasing to see the company’s aspirations for the future, and we look forward to seeing the firm’s growth with its proposed plans for additional services.”

Dr Steve Curl, Cumbria LEP director and member of NPIF’s Strategic Oversight Board, said: “I’m very pleased to see that Cumbria Care View Services was able to quickly access funding that helped it continue to deliver essential services to some of our vulnerable residents.

“Adequate protection for care staff is an essential ongoing requirement and, in the current economic climate, any assistance that helps businesses make progress is to be hugely welcomed. It’s particularly helpful if the process by which that help can be secured is as simple and straightforward as possible.”

Sean Hutchinson, senior investment manager at British Business Bank said: “With the current economic disruptions that many businesses are facing, it is important that firms feel they are able to contact our fund managers for support and guidance through this time. It’s great to see GC Business Finance support another business with this NPIF loan backed by CBILS which is having an immediate effect on the business and its service.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

June 24, 2020

Octane Capital promotes three of its senior team

‘Product-less’ lender, Octane Capital, today announced that it has promoted three of its senior team. The promotions are as follows:

  • Liam Lawlor has been promoted from senior BDM to sales director, overseeing some of Octane’s newest BDMs, including Bethan Jones, as Octane continues to grow its market share. Liam will continue to report into managing director, Mark Posniak.
  • Graham Macaulay has been promoted to head of short term lending, with three of the credit managers reporting into him. He will continue to develop them while providing credit intelligence and support to the rest of the team. Graham reports into Matt Smith, director of credit and risk
  • Donna-Louise House has been promoted to head of buy-to-let credit. Donna is heading up Octane’s new BTL team, which will be emerging from soft launch in the coming months. Donna reports into Matt Smith, director of credit and risk

Octane soft-launched its buy-to-let offering during lockdown with a number of key partners and will be widening its distribution towards the end of the summer.

Jonathan Samuels, CEO, Octane Capital, commented:

“We’re always keen to promote talent and commitment from within and Liam, Graham and Donna, who have worked tirelessly to grow Octane in recent years, deserve to have their hard work rewarded. Each is a huge asset to the company and we are confident they will continue to go from strength to strength in their new roles. Things have picked up sharply since the property market emerged from lockdown and all three will be vital to ensuring we continue to grow our market share at a time when, more than ever, experience counts.”

June 24, 2020

Major hire expands RSM’s restructuring advisory capability in the East Midlands

Leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM has appointed Tyrone Courtman as a partner to grow and strengthen the firm’s restructuring advisory capability in the East Midlands region.

The appointment also marks another step in the firms bid to expand its already leading national network of restructuring practitioners.

As ICAEW’s regional lead and a senior member of the Turnaround Management Association, Tyrone has built up a high profile within the local business community. RSM’s ambitions to offer the region’s leading restructuring advisory, and to strengthen its position as the first-choice adviser to the region’s middle market will benefit from Tyrone’s reputation.

Tyrone will be based out of RSM’s Leicester and Nottingham offices, working across the East Midlands. He adds to the firm’s two new corporate tax partner hires in the region, Simon Browning and Michael McLaughlin.

With more than 30 years’ experience, Tyrone specialises in business rescue and performance improvement, turnaround without recourse to formal insolvency procedures, business refinance, debt advisory and accelerated mergers and acquisitions. His sector experience spans manufacturing, real estate and construction, transport and logistics, professional services, healthcare, and retail.

Tyrone Courtman said: ‘I’m delighted to join RSM. The obvious strengths of the business both at a regional and national level are what attracted me. It is also encouraging to see the firm’s confidence and commitment to growth during this uncertain period. I look forward to working with my new colleagues and clients.’

Adrian Allen, partner at RSM in Nottingham, said: ‘We’re delighted to bring Tyrone on board. His appointment will assist us in growing our Midlands and national restructuring advisory business. Tyrone’s strong profile and extensive experience working with the business community and considerable knowledge of multiple sectors will enhance our restructuring business proposition considerably.’

Kevin Harris, office managing partner for RSM in Leicester, said: ‘I’m thrilled to see Tyrone join the firm. I know his experience and reputation will benefit a lot of what we are trying to do for our clients here in the East Midlands. This is also a tremendously challenging time for businesses across the region, and I’m confident that Tyrone will play a massive role in supporting RSM’s clients through the ongoing crisis and beyond.’

June 24, 2020

LendInvest introduces limited edition ‘Summer Specials’ buy-to-let product offers up to 75% LTV

LendInvest, the UK’s leading platform for property finance, has introduced a range of updates to its buy-to-let product including a series of special offers available for a limited time.

LendInvest is offering its two year fixed 75% LTV product at a rate of 3.49%, with a maximum loan size of £750,000.

The offer extends to the lender’s five year fixed mortgages, with its 70% LTV product available at a rate of 3.69% and 75% LTV product available at 3.59%, or 3.69% with a 4% ICR.

The lender has reintroduced its 75% LTV products for standard HMO cases up to six bedrooms, with rates available across two and five year fixed products.

The minimum property value for HMO cases has been reduced, now starting at £250,000 for Greater London and £100,000 for the rest of the country. Large HMOs and MUFB cases with properties up to 10 bedrooms are now also being accepted.

Andy Virgo, director for buy-to-let at LendInvest, said: “At this time two of the most important things a lender can do is; observe the market and listen to your customers. Doing this ensures you are not only delivering the products they need, but products that are right for them – this is something we continuously strive for at LendInvest.

“As we all settle into the new normal, portfolio landlords are increasingly seeking leverage to aid the growth of their BTL portfolios. These product changes are key to supporting them, and allowing them access to the funding they require.”

June 24, 2020

FIBA hails success of its buy-to-let webinar series

Specialist finance trade body FIBA, part of The SimplyBiz Group, saw over 1000 brokers sign up for its recent series of four exclusive live webinars conducted by Roger Morris of Precise Mortgages.

The webinars were organised as part of FIBA’s stated strategy to help raise standards and professionalism along with creating a greater understanding of the buy-to-let sector by advisers, particularly for FIBA and SimplyBiz Mortgages members.

The sessions covered the effects of legislative changes, taxation, structures of ownership, HMOs and landlord engagement and gave advisers the opportunity to hear from Roger Morris, acknowledged to be one of the foremost experts in the field, both as a lender and a landlord in his own right.

Online questionnaires completed by advisers attending the webinars showed that 30% were new to BTL, with even a small percentage coming on board as they were returning to giving BTL advice with 63% already supporting landlords as clients.

Overall, 47% of respondents were keen to expand their service to landlords, 19% were looking to learn more to establish whether to move into the BTL space and over a third wanted to offer added value to their existing landlord clients.

The session dealing with HMOs found that 26% of the audience were experiencing difficulties finding finance for them. In addition, nearly half, 49%, thought that interest rates offered were high in comparison to standard BTL rates.

According to FIBA executive chairman, Adam Tyler, the interest in the webinars had been overwhelming.

He said, “It was a fantastic turnout, given that the timing was a regular 2pm on some very sunny Friday afternoons. There were nearly 1000 brokers who’d signed up for the series and 300 for a single session, eager to learn more about taxation in the BTL industry. The webinar series as a whole received record-breaking attendances for every session, and even with one on a Friday afternoon before a bank holiday weekend! A staggering difference to the pre-Covid world.

Of course, we were fortunate to have Roger as our speaker but the overall member support for the webinars was amazing. Of course, the view of the future was mixed. 38% of attendees felt the BTL market would increase, 17% felt it would decrease and 45% felt it would remain the same.”

Adam added, “We feel our webinar series has significantly supported attendees. A pleasing 87% stated that they felt more confident in dealing with landlords and the challenges posed by the BTL market. 71% went on to say they would be actively looking to increase the number of landlords they supported over the next twelve months.

In conclusion, confidence in the BTL market among brokers remains strong and offers significant potential for growth in the future. Some advisers are hesitant about market growth in the short term, but all appreciated that there is a need to add value, knowledge and professionalism to their relationships with landlords in order to be successful in growing this sector in their business in the future.”

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