OPENING SHOTS


UK TARIFF RATES - SECTOR VARIABLES (%) Dairy Products


Sugars and Confectionary Beverages and Tobacco Animal Products


Cereals and Preparations Clothing


Fish and Fish Products


Fruit, Vegetables, Plants Oilseeds, Fats and Oils Textiles


Coffee, Tea Chemicals


Leather, Footwear, etc Transport Equipment


Other Agricultural Products Maunfactures, N.E.S. Electrical Machinery Petroleum


Minerals and Metals


Non-Electrical Machinery Wood, Paper, etc Cotton


customers due to banking arrangements, and accelerated payment terms to suppliers. Understanding current cash cycles


and modelling potential or likely future cycles will identify funding needed to maintain or grow your business in the UK. Businesses can fund any additional investment required through a combination of methods:


♦ Renegotiate terms at both ends of the cash cycle – with suppliers and customers ♦ Review of in-house procedures for managing debtor collections and supplier payments ♦ Use of alternative financing methods, such as supplier finance or invoice discounting ♦ Scaling businesses should consider it as part of fundraising ♦ Loan finance from traditional lenders and new entrants


www.smeweb.com


In addition to the above, there are a


number of effective funding mechanisms that enable businesses to reduce cash cycle timelines or cover additional requirements. Do plenty of research and find the option most suited to your business needs.


What’s next? So, what happens if we leave the EU with 'no deal'? If no agreement is reached by March 2019 – or there is agreement on a transition period, but none on a future relationship – then the UK will need to move to trading under the WTO regime, either in March 2019 or on the expiry of the transition period. Should this happen, tariffs on trade with the EU would increase costs for both UK importers and exporters. The average EU tariff rate sits at a modest 1.5%, but when it comes to individual sectors we see the rate differ greatly - a full breakdown of which can be found on the chart above with the food


and beverage industry being most at risk to high tariffs. Brexit is by nature uncertain, with


implications only being clear in stages. The effects are real and already creating difficulties for businesses buying or selling in Europe, but it's important to note that Brexit is not a strategic problem. Continue to drive your strategic plan and determine if modifications are needed to stay on track - the sooner this is done, the better. If you would like to know how Brexit ready your business is then you can get your free Brexit readiness checklist report at swoopfunding.com/prepareforbrexit. This will help identify the next steps to take to prepare your business for Brexit regardless of the outcome.


Andrea Reynolds FCA is the CEO of Swoop. Over 15 years Andrea has raised £180m for SMES and in May this year launched swoopfunding.com.


SME 13


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