Columnist

Touch Financial - An essential part of the crew

A business facing bankruptcy and reduced to asking for loans from friends and family after its original funding line proved ineffective, is about to see its most successful year since it was established, thanks to a new arrangement brokered by Touch Financial.

Mat Crewing, based in Liverpool, provides staff for festivals including Glastonbury, V-festival and also conferences. It was looking to grow its business but only had a basic account that was used to pay bills and service an ongoing loan with its bank. When Director Michael Touhey approached his bank manager he was told that his business would not be suitable for a further loan.

“We had a facility that was working until one of our clients asked to make a number of staggered payments over four months to clear his outstanding invoices,” he says. “We cleared this with our lender and thought this would be the last we heard of it.”

However, halfway through the repayments, the lender decided not to honour the agreement and froze the company’s accounts. “We were in a very dire situation, we had £25,000 in cash flow that we could not access and our entire account was frozen without any explanation. We were on the verge of declaring bankruptcy and had to borrow money from friends and family just to keep the wolves from the door, all because of an agreement that was not honoured with our previous lender.”

So, Michael decided to explore what other options were available to him and his business: “I looked online for invoice finance and that’s when I came across Touch Financial. Having answered a number of questions over the phone, I was given three options that would suit our business best and what we wanted to achieve.

“We opted to go for a local provider, Ashley Finance, as we were advised that it would provide a very flexible and personal service – exactly what we hadn’t received last time. Six months on and we are looking at our best year yet. Without this expert guidance from the team at Touch Financial we would not be here at all.”

And the relationship with Touch Financial didn’t end when he put the phone down after the initial phone call: “I have received a couple of calls since from our account handler to check how we are doing, if the facility is working for us and if there is anything else they could help with. Their knowledge has been crucial in our recovery and as we now look to flourish.”

Simon Carter, Director of Touch Financial, says that if a company needs an immediate injection of cash, then invoice financing gives a company that fast access to cash without the red tape: “By receiving an almost immediate advance on a project, a company can pay for supplies, wages as well as any other eventualities that may arise during the life span of the project. It means that a company does not have to wait for the customer to cough up the cash.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Simmons .