Sector Focus In Brief


Commerical finance broker Finance 4 Business (F4B) has made two new appointments – bringing in Simon Juniper as senior business advisor and Bret Jackson as marketing manager. Simon will be concentrating


on the South East, utilising his extensive knowledge. He said: “Managing director


Russell Martin discussed his vision and business plan for F4B, which made me want to be a part of the future success of the company.” Bret will be focusing on both


traditional and digital marketing, across all areas of the business. He said: “I was looking for a new challenge where my industry experience could be utilised fully. “Having met Russell, his


passion and ambitions for the company was evident at outset. It was clear how I would form an integral part of this exciting company.”


Sportswear firm Python Performance Limited has appointed Birmingham-based accountant Blue Sky Corporate Finance. Blue Sky will provide


Python to provide day-to-day support with its bookkeeping and accounting requirements. Python was founded in 2015


by Oscar Ryndziewicz, after he suffered a severe knee injury that required the extensive use of supports, tape and compression wear, which proved both time consuming to apply and costly. He therefore set about


designing a garment that integrated all of these elements. He said: “We take comfort in


the fact that as our business develops Blue Sky has the ability to provide specialist expertise across a wide range of financial and business areas.”


Spreadsheet firm Synapse Information has appointed Ruth McFarland as finance and operations manager to support the next stage of growth of the business. Synapse was founded by a


group of British database experts in 2013. Ruth said: “Synapse’s


flagship solution, Cloud CFO, really is the answer to an accountant’s prayers as it gets rid of a lot of the pain associated with working with spreadsheets. It is suited to any size of company, large or small.”


52 CHAMBERLINK February 2017


Finance


Barclays banking app changes face of lending


As new research uncovers over 8,700 extra jobs waiting to be created from West Midlands SMEs by 2021, Barclays has launched a mobile business lending service capable of providing instant loans to businesses. Though almost a third of SMEs are not planning on applying for a loan despite acknowledging it would boost their business, the research shows that 64 per cent of SMEs’ turnover would increase if they successfully secured the right loan, which could generate over 8,700 extra jobs in the West Midlands over the next four years. In response, Barclays has created mobile loans for


businesses, making SME loans and overdrafts instantly available to its client base through the Barclays Mobile Banking app. Barclays is the first UK bank to offer the service, which radically reduces the time taken to get a loan from a matter of weeks to under an hour. The research found that:


• Across the UK, 30 per cent of SMEs have decided not to apply for a loan despite thinking it would boost their business


•SMEs who have applied for funding expect the lending process to take at least five weeks, whereas for many the funds are now available on their mobile, pre- assessed, so they can access funding within one hour


• Removing the myth that banks don’t want to lend by making loans and overdrafts available instantly on smartphones could deliver over 8,700 extra jobs in the West Midland’s by 2021, generated from growth by SMEs. This would mean £0.7 bn economic boost per annum for the West Midland’s economy.


Ray O’Donoghue, corporate managing director for Barclays in the Midlands region, said: “We recognise that some businesses are cautious about applying for a loan. “Our new, pre-assessed lending gives customers the ability to see how much they could borrow on their mobile and we can get that money to them more


Here to help: Ray O’Donoghue


‘Since the EU Referendum our appetite for lending has not diminished’


quickly than ever so they can invest in and focus on running their businesses.” The research also found that one in five SMEs believe


Brexit is impacting their current or future funding requirements. Of those, the most common reasons cited were a need to start exporting to new, non-EU markets, Brexit economic uncertainty and a need to replace current employees who are EU citizens. Mr O’Donoghue added: “Since the EU Referendum


our appetite for lending has not diminished and we continue to lend to an SME in the UK every four minutes.”


Flotation trend is on the rise


The appetite to support the flotation plans of Midlands businesses shows little sign of waning according to IPO specialists at the Birmingham office of accountant Mazars.


Mazars recently joined with stockbroker Arden Partners and others to discuss the ins and outs of flotations at breakfast event in Worcester. Steve Douglas, head of corporate


finance at Arden Partners said: “The benign inflation and interest rate environment of recent years has resulted in many financial institutions finding themselves with significant cash reserves. Fund managers continually seek optimal investment returns and, particularly in this macroeconomic environment, the equity markets remain one of their preferred options.


“For companies seeking growth


capital, a market listing, whether Main Market or AIM, has never been a more realistic option. We will discuss what the process entails.” Mazars’ transaction services


partner David Preston said: “The 2016 flotations of Autins and Van Elle reinforced our belief that Midlands companies with viable IPO strategies will be supported and we expect to see this trend continue into 2017. Our breakfast meeting was an opportunity for businesses to assess whether a flotation is right for them and the steps they need to take to be ready to take advantage of available funding.”


David Preston: flotations set to continue in 2017


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