He said: “Everything has to start with a plan, and plan as far ahead as you can. You have to understand where you’re taking your business, and that’s where your funding comes from.
“I think go early too. It does take longer than you think. Also, ask for a little bit more than you perhaps think you need, and just make sure you’re getting robust advice on how to present things.”
James appeared on a panel alongside Jack Mellor, managing director of Blackburn-based Personnel Checks, which provides employee background screening software for SMEs and larger businesses and recently completed its first acquisition.
Jack said the process had highlighted the range of funding options available.
He said: “I wanted to push the business forward, and I felt that we’d exhausted a number of options in the toolbox that we had in front of us.
“What surprised me about funding was the number of options available. This journey’s been a huge learning curve for me.”
He added that surrounding himself with the right people had been vital throughout the acquisition process.
Jack said: “You’ve got a lot of information flowing your way and it can distract away from the core focus of actually trying to run the business day to day as well.
“It’s really been important for me to surround myself with the right people who can help share that burden a little. The numbers side of it is absolutely key, but I think also the administrative side of it as well.
“There’s certainly a couple of people in my business who have propped me up there and make me look good in certain scenarios.”
PREPARATION IS KEY
The funding landscape in Lancashire remains positive, according to a Chorley based lender to SMEs.
Ben Smith, managing director of Kingsley Asset Finance, told delegates at the Funding Summit that demand for finance increased during the first quarter of 2025 and had continued in the same vein.
He said: “The conversations that we’re having are overwhelmingly positive in the main. People are looking to invest in new capital equipment, looking at ways to grow their business internationally, and move into different products and services.”
A key theme to emerge from the Funding Summit was the importance of seeking advice early from accountants and other professional advisers before approaching funders.
Ben said businesses could also make life more difficult by approaching the wrong lender.
He said: “Ill-advised business owners can often start talking to lenders where that deal is just never going to fit.
James Cole
“Post-financial crisis, we’ve got more lenders and more choice out there in the market, which is great because it drives competition and it encourages creative solutions. But it adds complexity as there is almost too much choice.
“Leaning on your accountant and getting other advice can help short-circuit that process and make sure you’re talking to the right funders at the right stage.”
Steve Bell of Pierce agreed, saying accountants and advisers could help businesses identify the most appropriate funding options.
He said: “By approaching your accountant or an adviser, they’ll be able to give you a view of what you want funding for and what’s most appropriate.
Jack Mellor “If you’ve got a transformational business
opportunity, it might be more relevant to private equity, and going to speak to one of the debt funders is just pushing water uphill because it’s not appropriate.
“Trust your advisers. Between us, your funders and your lawyers, we’ve been through the process.”
Martin Emmott of Rosebud encouraged businesses to think carefully about where they wanted to take their business before beginning their funding journey.
He said: “The bottom line is to work out exactly what you want from a funder or what support you need from your professional advisers.
“Once you know where the business wants to be, the pieces start to fall into place. The key thing is asking: where do you want to be in 12 months’ time, five years’ time, and how can you plot a course?
“We’re that stepping stone and we will hand over the baton to the mainstream funders.”
Ben also urged business owners to assess their own businesses critically before entering the funding process.
He said: “The entrepreneur is typically very confident in the future and that their business is fantastic, and often it genuinely is, but they’d do well to turn the microscope on themselves a little bit.
“Ultimately a lender might get to those questions in due course anyway through the diligence process.
“If you can head them off at the pass and have slick answers lined up in advance, you can make the process a lot easier by being slightly self-critical of your own business and some of its challenges.”
Steve added that businesses should not become frustrated by the questions lenders ask.
Continued on Page 74 LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
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FUNDING SUMMIT
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