When it comes to business finance experience matters, so says Ian Priest of Independent Banking Consultants. He should know, after 31 years in banking and rising to be Managing Partner at the Clydesdale Bank, he has branched out, becoming Independent Banking Consultants’ first UK franchisee in 2010.The world of business finance has never been more open, as the banks tighten their lending criteria the alternative lending market booms. In the last four years Ian has raised funds for solicitors, care homes, vets, private schools, a golf course, even a fish and chip business totalling £15 million.
The banks are suffering from a lack of staff experienced in lending, for years the emphasis has been on sales training, resulting in as kills gap. Ian has some sympathy, he says, “The guys on the frontline in banking often don’t have the time, the skills or the training. They don’t even know what it is they don’t know!” He says the processes involved by the major banks simply don’t work in the real world. It is not enough for an inexperienced person to pay a brief site visit, look around, kick a few tyres and send a report to head office. The borrower is given no opportunity to correct any errors and the person from the bank doesn’t have the experience to recognise the business’s potential. After all, saying “No” is a safe option. This is where Ian comes in. First and foremost he knows how to put a proposal together structured in such a way that it is easy for the bank to say “Yes”. He will go out and write a critical paper and agree it with the client, taking the client’s goals into consideration, and structure the proposal accordingly. Unlike most brokers, Ian adopts a whole of market approach. He will submit the proposal to a number of lenders in parallel rather than adopting the more conventional, one at time, linear approach. Sometimes he will put a shortened version up to see who would be interested and what it would take to get them interested. This approach results in a number of offers. Ian then sees it as a critical part of the process to advise the client on the pros and cons of each offer to determine which is best for that client. There are sometimes hidden charges and long term implications, not immediately apparent, but Ian is there to help sort the wood from the trees. This client first approach has led to them being one of the first business finance advisors to be fully authorised and regulated by the FCA.
Ian’s Top Tips. Always approach more than one lender. Make sure the proposal is structured in a way the bank understands. Stress test your proposal to ensure that you have done the groundwork to answer the bank’s questions, and most importantly, get help! It pays dividends.