Helping our clients to navigate the debt landscape

It is important for our clients and prospects to ensure they are using debt appropriately to unlock opportunities and not to overburden their business and stifle future growth.

Over recent years, the number of lenders has increased with many more challenger banks and alternative debt funds entering the market and allowing businesses to take advantage of a range of different debt options (including the facilitation of the government-backed Covid-19 schemes).

As a debt advisory team, we can help you and help your clients to navigate the ever-changing debt landscape to ensure appropriate facilities for the future success of your client and their business.

Using debt has been of high importance to SMEs in these difficult times, and we expect this trend to continue as businesses evolve their strategies, exploit opportunities, or look to succession as they adapt to the new norm.

In 2020, the British Business Bank Small Business finance report (businesses up to £25m turnover) suggests 45% of SMEs applied for external financial support compared to 13% in 2019. 

What are the typical funding events for clients?

• Business/strategic change
  • Growth
  • Refinance for improved terms
  • Changing funding facilities for new strategies
  • Working capital requirements & cash shortfalls
• Transactional
  • Acquisitions
  • MBOs / MBIs and succession events
  • Shareholder restructuring
  • Refinance of debt instruments such as loan notes

What to look out for with your clients?

• They are not getting the support required from their current lender
• Changing strategies that need an injection of cash
• Transaction events i.e. acquisition/succession
• Debt facilities are stretched or not working for the business
• They have been with the same lender for a long period of time
• They have never had debt before and want to understand their options

How can we help you?

We can help you to discuss debt options with clients and provide a range of advice from internal discussions with you through to advising and project managing the injection of new debt facilities for clients, for instance:

• Internal knowledge share
• Introductions to lenders
• Debt optional appraisal report
• Debt options appraisal, introductions, and project management of new funding
• Advice on funding for succession
• Advice to Private Equity (“PE”) investors and PE-backed businesses

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any debt related questions from your clients, we are always happy to have an introductory call with you and/or your client.

If you want to get in touch, please email DebtAdvisorySupport@mazars.co.uk and one of the team will respond. 

As every business is unique and can be appraised differently by lenders, please provide as much of the following in your email:

• Client name
• Assistance required
• Debt quantum required (if known)
• What will the debt be used for? i.e. a transaction, growth, working capital, refinance, cashflow difficulties from poor performance
• Current lender
• Latest financials (P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow) or latest statutory accounts

Get in touch

If you would like to know more about how we can help, please get in touch.

Contact us today