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roundtable: supporting growth


Professional funding advice will help your business achieve growth


This is the finding of a roundtable debate hosted by The Business Magazine and HSBC, in which local business leaders were invited to HSBC’s corporate banking offices at Southampton Airport. John Burbedge reports the highlights


Participants


James Austin Investment director Business Growth Fund


William Crook Group managing director R&M Electrical


Mike Forder Chairman Creative Party


Mark Frettingham Head of corporate banking centre HSBC


Richard Lord Managing director CPG Logistics


Steve Luckett Director Lucketts Holdings


Ed McKenzie Group commercial director Lakesmere


Gary Rothery Area commercial director HSBC


Toby Steele Group finance director CTC Aviation


David Murray Managing director of The Business Magazine, and chair of the discussions.


www.businessmag.co.uk


From left: James Austin, Richard Lord, Mark Frettingham, William Crook, Toby Steele, Gary Rothery, Ed McKenzie, Steve Luckett, David Murray and Mike Forder


For well over an hour, this HSBC-hosted roundtable discussed funding for growth issues relevant to the Solent region, and beyond. Yet as the discussion progressed, the key messages became increasingly clear:


• Solent businesses are ready and willing to grow, but often there is a lack of awareness of the funding options available to finance that growth.


• Individual growth-funding solutions for businesses are often as tailor-made as a bespoke suit. Knowing the right knowledgeable people who can skilfully craft those options to fit the commercial needs of a business is essential.


Funding solutions are out there, if you ask ...


Party goods supplier Mike Forder admitted that prior to advice and assistance from HSBC, he had considered funding for small businesses to be “virtually non-existent.”


“Invoice discounting was available, but to grow a business you need product to sell and you can’t discount stock. We deal with the Far East and the Chinese don’t give you much credit. We need to


• Obstacles to growth can be overcome, with a mutually trusted and respected client-adviser working relationship which is open, frank and fully understanding of the business requirements.


• Business growth is usually achieved through entrepreneurial flair, strategic planning, improved product or service quality, and customer satisfaction, but growth should always be underpinned by secure funding and professional advice.


Below we reveal some of those key funding options and the current industry issues that businesses are tackling with professional support.


design products, pay for tools and there’s a huge lack of available funding for that.


“I’m fairly vitriolic about the hypocrisy of politicians who say they have told state-owned banks to loan to the SME sector, yet when I go to such banks that I’ve known for many years, they’ll loan me money personally, but not my company – a business that has grown 15% compound for five profitable years.


“The difference for me has been HSBC offering me a trade finance solution. No-one in the market is offering anything similar.” (HSBC also assisted Forder to significantly increase the level of his facility.)


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2013


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