Ever the optimist, I am expecting confidence to return to our market in 2023. Basic economic stability and encouragement that key items such as inflation having now peaked, should encourage investors to come to the table again. 

There’s no doubt there’s a need for cash for those businesses struggling with the consequences of last year and beyond.  Cashflow pressures are not always resolved through increased borrowing, and additional shareholder investment is not always available. Increased trading is great but needs the cash input to fuel it.

Investors in the B&Y network like these situations. It gives them the chance to make a difference with their capital, in situations where the fundamentals of the business have been proven.

Whether your business is continuing to grow but needs further funding rounds to reach profit or has a history of profits, but these have been eaten up through the past few years, our message is clear; Beer & Young are here to help you find urgent/growth capital and find it quickly.

“Good Cashflow is the lifeblood of all SME’s. If your clients are experiencing cashflow problems, please get in touch.”

Case Study

It was identified that without new capital our client would have to start the insolvency process, which would have meant significant bad debt provision for the bank some of which would have fallen back to the directors via pg’s..

The business had Bank debt of £2.2m with a pressing HMRC debt of £750k, a negative balance sheet of £400k, and over a hundred jobs at risk.

This is what we and our client achieved:

• We generated interest from five well qualified and serious investors within 14 days of take-on
• Generated two offers of funding within 21 days
• £750k of new investment injected into the company within 40 working days
• All jobs were saved
• No bad debt, or call to directors pg’s
• Positive balance sheet of over £1 million after investment & write off of deferred consideration

We are delighted that the company has a much stronger financial platform from which to move forward.

“I would like to thank Beer & Young for all their professional efforts in securing the additional equity for our Company and for the contribution they made in saving the jobs of our employees.”

– SP, Managing Director

New Partnerships

Initiatives for 2023 include promoting professional colleagues with whom we have formed partnerships; most likely these will involve long standing business relationships we those companies and individuals with a superb track for delivery.

Today we’d like to introduce Graham Moorcraft at EFT Finance Ltd. EFT provide the best possible lending solutions to suit all SME’s.

Graham comments: “2023 will be a challenging time for all sectors of business with increased pressure of inflation and increased costs. With the withdrawal of Government support Covid schemes, even more than ever Companies will require the support of external lenders as High Street Banks become less supportive.

EFT is a long established FCA accredited Finance broker that provides all types of debt and have been working for many years with over 60 lenders to provide such arrangements to their clients and customers. They provide funding for all types of businesses and borrowing without limits.

Asset finance, Commercial or residential Mortgages (including bridging), Invoice discounting as well as refinancing of existing debt for better terms via ABL funding, are all areas of expertise on which we can deliver.”

Contact Graham Moorcraft on 07775 852 184

Email: gmoorcraft@eftfinance.co.uk

The Capital Finance International judging panel has announced Beer & Young as the 2022 award winner for Best SME Growth Capital Solutions UK. 

A massive thank you to our colleagues who work so hard to make this happen.

We are privileged to be recognised as a leader in the capital solution community and are proud to have an investor network that “bring the business know-how” as well as their funding.  

Read what they had to say below:

“Beer & Young (B&Y) has found its niche as a corporate finance boutique in the UK, where SMEs account for 99.9 percent of the business population. The firm is driven by a multidisciplinary team of entrepreneurs, accountants, bankers and investors dedicated to helping UK businesses fuel growth and overcome challenges. Founded in 1998, the firm connects entrepreneurs to a network of active investors and private equity funds looking for good business opportunities. The B&Y team can be reached round-clock by mobile phone and stays in close contact with clients and investors to create win-win solutions that match funding needs with capital providers. B&Y investors contribute more than just capital in a crunch; they bring the business know-how and contacts that can propel an SME to the next level. The firm targets SMEs with up to £50m in turnover and fewer than 100 employees. Funding ranges from £250,000 and £25m in equity or debt. Over the past eight years, B&Y has helped cash-constrained SMEs raise growth capital and urgent funding to the tune of £34m in equity and £43m in debt. B&Y has seen an uptick in business from quality companies struggling with cash pressures and working capital woes. It races to secure funding in turnaround situations when the timing is most critical, often raising capital within two to six weeks. The CFI.co judging panel announces Beer & Young as the 2022 award winner for Best SME Growth Capital Solutions (UK).”

We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the CFI.co award for Best SME Growth Capital Solutions 2022.
As a business that specialises in raising capital for SME’s, we are proud to have been recognised by our business community. Capital is the life blood for businesses whether in growth phase or as a business in need. We’ve been a market leader in the SME community for 24 years now, long may that continue.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for a chat if you know of a business seeking capital, whatever the circumstances. We have an unmatched number of active investors looking for the right opportunities.

Private Investment fulfils the needs of stressed SME’s.​

There is a common theme to most of the enquiries we are receiving, in short it is a cash squeeze.

Whether the business is continuing to grow but needs further funding rounds to reach profit, or has a history of profits but these have been eaten up through the past two years, the bottom line is the same. “We need more cash to see us through.”

That’s fine until one considers the next question: “where from?”

A requirement for more capital does not turn your business from good to bad overnight. Business owners’ experiences through the past two and half years have been unprecedented, and not of their making. None of this solves the problem…. “Where do I find the money from?”

Bank support is somewhat of an oxymoron if you need more money. The Recovery Loan Scheme is not this at all. It’s a loan scheme for companies in growth who are not showing signs of stress or financial weakness. Underwriting teams across every funding sector are being more cautious, and it’s a fair bet to say this trend will continue for some time to come. For the business owner who’s numbers are not in great shape, it’s not surprising that lenders will be hesitant in offering additional support.

Thankfully, there is a solution that can work for most businesses and that is private capital, in the form equity funding. Private investors do back businesses where there is a proven business model and opportunity to make future profits. Often their capital comes with added skills and support, and this is to be welcomed. 

Beer & Young specialise in raising capital quickly for businesses which have a need for capital. Our network of private investors in this area is unmatched in the UK. Investment from private investors can be the answer: it enables the business to secure its immediate future and gives it the funds necessary to plan for growth and profits.

There are solutions to the funding problems facing many UK businesses – below we have offered three recent examples of clients we have helped.

Beer & Young were approached to source urgent funding for a business that had reached a cash crunch whereby unless funding was received within three months, the business would be forced to close. Within one week of take-on we had sourced an overseas trade group who were very keen to enter into this market and looking for acquisitions and/or joint ventures. Within weeks a soft loan was accepted by our client to cover urgent working capital requirements. Further investment followed giving our client the money they need to develop their business and deliver growth & profits. 

Ladies Fashion, bespoke design. Below is an un-edited note we received from our client after investment had been received.

“My business has been developing well for some time, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I found myself needing urgent funding support. My bank wouldn’t support me so I turned to B&Y. Not only did they resolve my funding issues, they also helped me through the process and made it all simple. I am truly grateful for their efforts and recommend any business owner to contact them.”

Having failed to raise cash eighteen months prior, an owner approached B&Y seeking a cash injection to rationalise current operations and to de-leverage the balance sheet in order to drive future profitability and growth. We delivered four investor meetings with four weeks of engagement, two made offers of funding. One proposal clearly stood out and terms were agreed by all parties. The existing shareholders were bought out and £500,000 in new capital was invested in the business to deliver future growth. 

As the Autumn season is upon us, we want to give our colleagues a platform and some well-deserved focus. In the coming weeks we’ll offer some highlighted cases directly from B&Y Associates; please do reach out directly – building business relationships is a key element of what we do.

We were delighted to welcome Zack earlier in the Summer. Zack brings experience from working with a similar organisation to ours and amongst loads of other skills he brings the value of youth!

“Joining the B&Y family has delivered on every expectation I had. Working alongside Nick and his colleagues has provided me with the opportunity to support a wider variety of businesses. Having built my career around early-stage start-ups, I see the important role B&Y plays in supporting businesses during current market changes. More and more investors are looking to diversify and back more established businesses. This supports the existing economy and employment that have been affected by world crises such as the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine. During my short time with the team, two out of three assignments have reach investment offer stage and we hope will cross the line soon. It’s fascinating to work at different ends of the investment spectrum – growth and restructuring.

Both clients are food businesses – I like the sector but should be clear that I am more a generalist when it comes to investment solutions. I’m always around for a chat and look forward to hearing from you.”

Zack Louw, Associate.

Specialist Vegan Pet Care and Food

Our client is facing a critical moment in the expansion of current product lines and new customer acquisition. Investment will allow for greater marketing efforts as well as streamline operations to support growth. Our client is currently discussing offers including sweat equity for a key executive hire to support financial modelling and the overall investment campaign.

Leader in South & Southeast Asian Food Manufacturing

The pandemic saw many legacy businesses struggle and collapse as they tried to weather the economic storm. Our client was fortunate to have been able to weather the storm and now seeks to regain its place as the leader in its sector. We have successfully sourced the right private investors that will help shape the way forward with new retail partners and internal restructuring.

There’s a welcome back to school feel in our office this week. After the longest of summers and the very sad news from last Thursday, it’s good to spend time solely focused on work and business matters.
In addition to our fund-raising assignments, we have been undertaking some hands-on advisory work, mostly for businesses in turnaround mode, and where investment may be out of reach or just not the right time for the business owners.
We have one such case below which we feel is worth highlighting.

It’s far too late to shout about the new year, but it’s definitely worth celebrating a return to the workplace and a commitment by the Government that business activity and lifestyles pre pandemic are to be encouraged. Business owners can plan with confidence, and investors likewise can take confidence in the certainty of continuous trading environments.

Well, it’s definitely Autumn now that the clocks have gone back. And cold for those of us hitting the 7am trains into Waterloo. That’s not every day I hasten to add!

Monday marked the return to some sense of normality and another positive step towards the economy fully reopening. As well as the luxury of now being able to enjoy a meal or a drink inside (although it looked like a typically quiet Monday in our little piece of Holborn), there is a lot to be positive about in our industry.

We have feedback from clients and professional contacts that some banks and other lenders are currently reviewing the terms of their factoring and invoice discounting facilities.