Growth Finance Solutions

Growth finance is not a single product. It is a category that covers a wide range of funding structures from traditional debt and asset-backed lending through to venture debt and equity investment. The right choice depends on the stage your business is at, what the capital is for, and what the most appropriate structure looks like for your situation.

We have arranged growth finance from £500 through the Start Up Loans programme up to transactions exceeding £500 million. 

Most of what we do sits in the £250,000 to £50 million range for scaling SMEs. Whatever the size of your ambition, we will tell you honestly whether there is a route to fund it, and what it should look like.

The most common reasons SMEs seek growth finance are:

• Funding an acquisition or management buyout
• Scaling operations to take on a significant new contract or customer
• Entering a new market or geography
• Increasing production capacity
• Refinancing existing facilities to free up capital for growth
• Funding a strategic investment that will take time to pay back

Structured debt is where the majority of our work sits. Senior secured lending, mezzanine finance, and unitranche structures matched to the business, its assets, and its cash flow profile.

Venture debt 

Is available for businesses that have already raised equity and need non-dilutive capital alongside it. We have access to specialist venture debt providers and understand where this works and where it doesn't.

Equity finance 

(Including venture capital) is available through our network for businesses at the right stage and with the right profile. This is a small part of what we do, but the option exists and we will tell you honestly whether equity is the right answer or whether debt is more appropriate.

Revenue-based finance 

Can work for businesses with strong recurring revenue. It can also be expensive and poorly structured. We will tell you when it makes sense and when it doesn't.

The sequencing of capital matters as much as the capital itself. One of the most common mistakes growing businesses make is taking on the wrong type of finance at the wrong stage, equity when debt would have been more appropriate, or expensive short-term funding when patient structured debt was available.

We also see businesses take on revenue-based or merchant cash advance products under the banner of "growth finance" when the cost of that capital is working directly against their ability to grow. The label on the tin does not always reflect what is inside it.

If you have already been offered something, it is worth getting a second view before you commit.

We start by understanding your business, your objectives, and your current financial position. We then identify the most appropriate type of capital, not the easiest to arrange or the most profitable for us, but the right fit for your situation and your stage.

We work with a wide panel of lenders, including mainstream banks, specialist debt providers, and alternative finance sources. We will tell you which lenders are realistic for your case and why.

We are solution-driven, not commission-driven. Our fee is earned by getting the right outcome for your business. All commissions are disclosed before you commit to anything.