UK Small Business Finance - A Comparison of Different Approaches

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1 May / June 2015 Which Political Party is best for your Small Business?

2 The bank manager has disappeared But ASC are still here! ASC Finance for Business helps businesses and entrepreneurs, throughout the UK obtain finance. With a network of over 20 regional offices nationwide, each office is run by an ASC Director who is dedicated to helping you achieve your goals, to obtain commercial finance or business loans which work for you. Our result oriented approach ensures we align our aims with yours and obtain the right finance for your business. ASC are commercial finance professionals and have been operating for over forty years. We have a unique understanding of the requirements of independent business people. Whether you need a Business Loan, a Commercial Mortgage, Property Finance, or Working Capital, it is important that you requirements are properly analysed to get you finance which works for you and your Business and that is what we do at ASC! Having assessed your requirements we will work on your behalf and will continue to manage the process, on your behalf, up to the point of completion. To find our more, visit, or contact your local director today. More information

3 What will the main political parties do for your small business? We at ASC Finance for Business understand what it is like to run a small business. In our daily discussions with business owners and entrepreneurs like yourself, we get to understand the difficulties and challenges which you face on a daily basis, from access to finance to staffing and growing and developing your business. With the General Election taking place next week, we asked the three political parties with the most seats at the last election, to outline their plans for small businesses, and to demonstrate why they represent the interest of small businesses across the UK. So who should you vote for as a small business owner? More information

4 Britain only succeeds when working people and businesses succeed Labour knows that Britain only succeeds when working people and businesses succeed. That means thriving businesses creating more secure and better paid jobs across the country. The Tories failing plan has focused on a narrow group of firms and individuals at the top, hoping that prosperity will trickle down to everyone else. Five years of their plan shows it doesn t work. We ve had the slowest recovery for 100 years, lending to business has fallen by over 50 billion, and small businesses are being held back by late payments and rising business rates. Britain can t risk another five years of the Tories failing plan. Labour has a better plan. We will support the hundreds of thousands of small businesses whose innovation and dynamism will drive our economy forward, to create the broad-based recovery we need to get the deficit down. Labour will help control costs for small businesses, cutting and then freezing business rates for more than 1.5 million small business properties, while maintaining the most competitive rate of corporation tax in the G7. We will freeze energy bills until 2017, so prices can fall but not rise, while we reform the energy market to work better for business customers. We will tackle late payment by requiring larger businesses to set out the extent of late payment they have been responsible for, and the action they have taken to compensate suppliers. Continued on next page...

5 ...ensure small businesses are better heard in policymaking And we will set up a Small Business Administration to work across government to reduce unnecessary regulation and ensure small businesses and entrepreneurs are better heard in policymaking. We will ensure we make the best use of the talents of all our young people, with new gold standard vocational qualifications at 18 and guarantee an apprenticeship to every school leaver with basic grades. We will give employers more control over the funding and design of apprenticeships, in exchange for creating more high quality apprenticeships in their sectors and supply chains. Labour s plan will ensure every part of the country can benefit from the recovery, not just a few. We will boost lending with a proper British Investment Bank and a network of regional banks rooted in local economies, and devolve at least 30 billion of funding to city and county regions and reform Local Enterprise Partnerships so they are better able to deliver for local communities. Labour s plan will reward hard work, share prosperity and build a better future for Britain s working people and businesses. Toby Perkins, Labour s Shadow Small Business Minister

6 We recognise the value of entrepreneurship The Conservatives are the only Party on the side of the business community. We recognize the enormous value of entrepreneurship. Since 2010 there are 760,000 more businesses. We have also issued over 27,000 start-up loans. Each and every one of these entrepreneurs is a job creator. Despite this substantial progress, there is still more to be done. Small businesses historically have come up against endless red tape, through which they must navigate. We are the first Government in modern history to reduce the burden of regulation. We have come a long way since 2010, saving businesses more than 10 billion pounds and over the next Parliament we will cut a further 10 billion pounds of red tape through our Red Tape Challenge and our One-In-One-Out rule. We have already cut Corporation Tax from 28% to 20%, reduced National Insurance bills and capped the rise in business rates. We are extending 100% Small Business Rate Relief and are providing extra support for high street shops by increasing the business rates retail discount to 1,500. We have reformed the employment tribunal system to lift the weight off small business owners and supported 27,000 new business mentors whose job it is to set entrepreneurs on their way. We are making the Office of Tax Simplification a permanent fixture as it has already shown promising results. Not stopping there, we are also backing the GREAT campaign in a bid to hit our target of 100,000 more UK companies exporting in 2020 than in All this should more that prove that when it comes to business and small businesses, the Conservative Party are on your side. Rt. Hon Grant Shapps Conservative Party Chairman Continued on next page...

7 Your hard work has driven this recovery I grew up surrounded by my family s small business, so I know that what you do isn t just a job, but a whole way of life. Your hard work has driven this recovery and we are determined to keep backing your aspirations. But we need your help. In the last five years we ve built one of the most competitive business tax regimes in the world and we intend to keep it that way. We will maintain the lowest Corporation Tax in the G20, and continue with our landmark Employment Allowance. We will also conduct a major review of business rates by the end of the year, to ensure they properly reflect the structure of the modern economy. But it s not just about government doing less. On skills and access to finance we are unashamedly interventionist. We ve created 2.2 million apprenticeships so far and will help businesses deliver 3 million more. This includes abolishing employer NICs on young apprentices under 25. We are determined to tackle the scourge of late payment, so we will strengthen the Prompt Payment Code and set up a Small Business Conciliation service to mediate in disputes. We want to make Britain the best place in Europe and in the top five worldwide for ease of doing business. But the job isn t done and Labour, with their plans for more spending, higher borrowing and higher taxes, would put it all at risk. You can make a difference though. By signing our Small Business Letter, you can add your voice to thousands of small firms in calling for us to have the chance to finish what we ve started. As Britain s job creators, your views carry huge weight and this election is too important stay silent. We believe we can make Britain the most prosperous of any major economy, and we will do it by backing you to every step of the way. Matthew Hancock Business Minister

8 We must make sure that businesses have access to the finance they need The Liberal Democrats entered Government in 2010 at a time of economic emergency. The steps we ve taken have got our economy growing again and helped businesses create 2 million new jobs three quarters of them full-time taking employment to a new record high. What the Liberal Democrats have brought to Government is a combination of economic competence and fairness. That s how we ve been able to halve the deficit at the same time as cutting income tax by more than 800 for 27 million people on low and middle incomes and protecting spending on schools and the NHS. We now need to move from recovery to renewal: building a stronger, balanced economy right across the UK. We must equip our workforce with the skills businesses need to compete, from engineering and construction to digital coding and systems design. In Government, Liberal Democrats have made it a priority to heavily increase investment in apprenticeships. More than 2 million people have started one since 2010, and we now aim to double the number of employers offering them. Continued on next page...

9 We ll reduce the burden of EU legislation on British business We must make sure that small businesses all over the country have access to the finance they need to start up, thrive and grow. We ve set up the Business Bank, which has lent over 3 billion to SMEs, and plan to expand it. We ll continue to offer grants through our Regional Growth Fund, which has already invested 1 billion and generated 3 billion more in private investment. I ve also brought in new rules to protect small companies from late payments, to stop unscrupulous large companies causing cashflow problems that can cripple their suppliers. We must remain in the European Union, protecting access to its 500 million consumers for British businesses and giving companies the certainty to invest in the UK. We ll reduce the burden of EU legislation on British business by curbing unnecessary red tape and exempting small companies from EU rules where possible. Only by remaining fully engaged with our European partners can we deliver these reforms and ensure British businesses benefit from open markets. Over the past five years, we have begun to build a stronger, more sustainable economy. The worst thing we could do now is throw that progress away by borrowing too much as Labour would, or cutting too much as the Tories plan to do. Only the Liberal Democrats will balance the budget by 2018 while also ensuring investment in the public services and infrastructure our economy needs. Lord Newby, Lib Dem Economic Spokesman

10 Still searching for business finance? Look no further... ASC Finance for Business are commercial finance brokers with over 40 years experience in successfully raising business finance for small business owners and entrepreneurs. We focus on raising finance, so you can focus on running your business

11 ASC Finance for Business Finance is Available! Deeds speak louder than words: May / June 2015 We secured funding of 130,000 for a client to start a smoked fish company in Scotland. The client approached ASC after unsuccessfully exploring a number of options ASC were able to raise finance of 1,400,000 to purchase a block of flats, and additional funds to assist with the refurbishment When a hygienist was looking for finance to purchase the dental practice which they worked at, ASC Finance for Business were able to arrange finance of 210,000, spread over 15 years. We raised over 2million for the purchase of a block of flats in central London ASC helped a couple fulfil their retirement dream of running a B&B through funding of 260,000 secured across a number of properties ASC identified a solution to raise 98,000 for a client to refinance his convenience store and reduce his overall costs To find out why our clients choose ASC for their business finance, click below We have just arranged a loan for 350,000 to assist a client of ASC to pay an outstanding debt with HMRC. The interest rate was very attractive, but more importantly the loan was completed within 3 weeks after the offer was accepted More information

12 A positive approach reflects a successful outcome! A pleasing aspect of our business is the ever increasing number of introductions received from our existing clients. In one such instance, Conrad Robins of ASC Devon was recommended to Alex Cull of The Character Mirror Company who was seeking to acquire a retail premises to take his business forward. The deal was far from straight-forward. With only a limited cash contribution available for the purchase, Conrad was able to identify a lender that would recognise the potential of the business and the quality of the applicant as being more important than the security and deposit available. By including early trading figures, which were supported by detailed accountant projections, ASC Finance for Business eventually persuaded a lender to offer a facility to a business trading in a niche business sector. Conrad was also able to emphasise the reduced income requirement as a result of his client occupying the residential part of the high street property. The Character Mirror Company is now fully established on the high street of Honiton, a very popular area for the antique trade, and the business is continuing to prosper. For more information, visit their new website. More information

13 We ll take the time to talk to you! We enjoy talking to business people and entrepreneurs which is why we make contacting us easy - we won't treat you like a form-filling robot. Contact us today and speak to an experienced ASC Director who will guide you through all the finance options available to you and your business, with no obligation! Connect with ASC: ASC Blog