As the UK emerges from recession the importance of having access to the right funding throughout this transitionary period is vital. With a number of SMEs looking at various government funding schemes, Hilton-Baird’s Cash Flow Clinic focuses on Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) funding.
Q. I run a printing firm and have heard about government schemes, such as EFG funding, and wondered if I’m eligible for this. If so, how would I go about accessing this funding?
A. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee was devised in order to enable more SMEs to access funds. In short, UK businesses in most industry sectors, with an annual turnover of up to £25 million, are in theory eligible for the scheme, where loans can be up to £1million and repaid over a period of up to 10 years.
However, there is no automatic entitlement to the EFG funding nor is there any form of pre-qualification. Individual lenders will assess any application via their own commercial criteria before implementing the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme criteria.
The main premise behind EFG funding is a government guarantee to improve the availability of working capital. It is designed to support the lending of money for business growth and development in situations where propositions could have been declined due to a lack of security.
Hilton-Baird can assess your business’ individual needs and match you up with the most appropriate funders to increase the likelihood of meeting the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme criteria.
It is worth bearing in mind that the EFG funding or other government schemes might not be the most appropriate form of funding for all businesses. As experts in the commercial finance arena, Hilton-Baird can assess all potential commercial funding tools to identify the right fit for your business’ evolving requirements.
Talk to us, the UK’s leading independent invoice finance broker, to see if your business can access EFG funding. By assessing the market, Hilton-Baird will identify the most suitable funder based upon your business’ needs.
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