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SMEs willing to look beyond the banks for funding options can find a range of tailored solutions to suit them, writes Mark O’Rourke, Managing Director, Bibby Financial Services Ireland

SMEs are widely seen as the backbone of the Irish economy, accounting for 90% of Irish businesses and employing over 400,000 people. However, they face a number of challenges domestically, such as pressure on cashflow, and internationally, with Brexit looming large on the horizon.

Our own research indicates that Irish SMEs are more likely to struggle with cashflow issues than their international competitors, with fewer than half expecting sales growth in 2020. While the SME sector currently faces considerable uncertainty, there are a number of financial supports available to help fast-growth businesses meet their goals for 2020.

Flexible Funding

Unfortunately, many SMEs remain unaware of the range of funding options available to them – and the benefits of looking beyond the major banks to consider alternative funding providers.

As a leading provider of financial support and funding solutions to Irish SMEs, Bibby Financial Services Ireland helps businesses to thrive and grow in domestic and international markets. It does this by providing tailored, flexible funding solutions for a variety of scenarios, including cashflow funding, new equipment purchase, growth and expansion, management buy-ins and buy-outs, refinancing, corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions.

Invoice Finance

Speed of access to funds is crucial for any business looking to expand, and all the more so for those based on forward orders. Alternative funders will typically release financing more quickly, as well as offering in-depth specialist knowledge across a range of sectors.

In Association with

Invoice finance is a simple way to improve a business’s cashflow by giving it quick access to cash tied up in invoices. The funding provider will pay the business up to 90% of the value of the invoice within 24 hours of an invoice being issued to a customer. Similarly, trade finance can be used to pay a business’s suppliers once goods are dispatched, providing much-needed funding to bridge the gap between paying suppliers and receiving payment from customers.

For businesses looking to grow sales, this opens up a world of opportunity and can allow them to more easily export goods to a broader range of international markets. The global economy is changing fast, and despite the global financial crisis and other short-term factors, Irish exports increased to their highest level on record in 2018, rising by 15% to €140 billion.

Leading Provider

Bibby Financial Services Ireland has been at the heart of this success, and is one of the leading providers of alternative funding solutions, helping SMEs who may have been denied funding by the major lenders protect their cashflow and drive their international growth. We were recently shortlisted for Financial Services Partner of the year by the Irish Exporters Association.

The benefits of greater flexibility and end-to-end trading solutions can assist businesses with turnovers from €300,000 upwards. Since 2016, Bibby Financial Services has also made over €70m available to Irish businesses through SBCI-backed funding, enabling them to access favourable rates and fulfil their potential. A number of additional funding sources are also available to those Irish businesses not eligible for SBCI funding, or that are based in Northern Ireland.

Ultimately, despite the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead, those businesses that have broadened their horizons to encompass the full range of funding options available to them will be best placed to thrive and grow.

If you would like to find out more about our services and how we can help your business, call us on 01 297 4911 or visit www.bibbyfinancialservices.ie.

Find us on Twitter: @BibbyFinanceIE

Pictured: Mark O’Rourke, Managing Director, Bibby Financial Services Ireland