Member Blog

Transport & Logistics Finance – Why?

According to Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), transportation is a subgroup of the ‘Industrials’ sector. Incorporating several industries such as road, rail, logistics, marine, and air freight, it can also be broken down into smaller microcosms such as; trucking, marine port operations, postal and courier activities as well as warehouse storage and handling.

As transportation has continued to grow, so has its dependents. Now a key component of society and a key earner for the British economy, it is important that transportation is holistically supported in its operation and development.

Asset Finance in its simplest form, is a tool that supports and transforms transport businesses by enabling them to stay ahead of trends, changes and predictions. As an alternative method of funding, Asset Finance provides flexibility for businesses that wish to invest in themselves or simply rediscover a healthy cash flow.

Asset Finance Products: Description: Why do businesses choose this product? Hire Purchase Hire Purchase (HP) is simply a hire agreement which offers a straightforward way of spreading the cost of your vehicle or company asset, with the benefit of ownership at the end of the agreement. You decide:

• The length of your agreement.
• How much deposit you wish you pay.
• Your preference of fixed monthly instalments.

At the end of your agreement once you have made your final monthly repayment including a nominal Option to Purchase Fee, the title of the asset will be transferred into your name.

• Flexible deposit to conserve your personal or business cash.
• Fixed monthly payments for ease of budgeting.
• Ownership at the end of the agreement.
• No mileage restrictions.
• Fixed interest rate.
• Monthly repayments do not attract VAT.
• Tax allowances for business users.
• Option to defer a final lump sum to reduce monthly repayments (Lease Purchase).

Refinance Refinance can be a useful way for an individual or business to restructure existing finance agreements.    The asset is purchased by a new finance provider and refinanced on a new agreement.  The duration of the agreement and repayments can be tailor made to suit your individual requirements, resulting in a lower monthly payment, whilst still providing use of the asset. Refinance is available on vehicles and assets which are currently financed.

• Provides further financial stability.
• Restructure monthly repayments.
• Ability to purchase additional assets.
• Flexible terms available.
• Agreement is secured against the asset value.
• Viable alternative to traditional banking options.

Operating Lease Operating Lease is a common form of ‘off-balance sheet’ financing, it enables you to equip your business with a broad spectrum of high value assets or equipment through a rental agreement, reducing any of the attached risks of ownership and costs to your business.  With an operating lease your monthly rental payments are based on the difference between the price of the asset at the start of the agreement and its projected residual value, plus any interest charges.  As you only repay a proportion of the asset’s value, you avoid a large initial outlay, reduce your monthly rental payments and instantly boost your business cash flow. At the end of the lease you simply return the asset to the lender, alleviating any of your disposal and depreciation concerns.

• Fixed monthly rental – you acquire the asset for immediate use.
• Low initial capital outlay.
• Boosts your cashflow.
• Asset usage without resale or depreciation risk.
• Off Balance Sheet Funding – Operating lease acts purely as a business rental cost.
• VAT on rental is reclaimable depending on your usage & VAT Registration.
• Flexibility at the end of the term to return the asset or extend the lease agreement.

Lease Purchase Lease Purchase also known as Hire Purchase with a Balloon, is similar to a standard Hire Purchase (HP) finance plan.  However, your monthly repayments are reduced by deferring a proportion of your balance, a balloon payment, to the end of your finance agreement.  Lease Purchase is available to business customers and private individuals.  It helps you spread the cost of your asset with lower monthly payments to suit your budget, with the option to purchase at the end of the agreement. At the start of the agreement you simply decide an initial deposit, typically 10%-50% of the purchasing price and choose your agreement term usually between 12-60 months.  Your equal monthly payments including interest payable, and a final agreed deferred balloon payment are then calculated. At the end of the agreement you then have a number of options. You can choose to either:

• Pay the deferred final balloon payment, plus an Option to Purchase Fee, the title of the asset will then be transferred into your name. 
• Part-exchange the asset subject to settlement of your existing credit agreement. 
• Refinance the final balloon payment.
• Sell the vehicle or asset privately, once the balloon payment has been paid.
• Flexible deposit and term with no mileage restrictions.
• Fixed monthly payments for ease of budgeting and to conserve your cash flow.
• Ownership at the end of the agreement.
• Deferred balloon payment reduces your monthly instalments.
• Tax allowances for business users.
• Asset appears on business balance sheet and can be wrote down against taxable profits.
• Monthly repayments are not subject to VAT.

Asset Finance can be used for:

Working Capital/Cash Flow Solutions

Finance solutions, such as Commercial Loans, can be used to help cover the financials involved in everyday operations such as bills and rent. This can be especially beneficial to businesses that are having to invest in other areas, or for seasonal businesses that are busier in some months more than others. Other forms of Asset Finance such as; Operating Leases, Contract Hire and Seasonal Payment Plans can also help to protect your cashflow and promote a healthy working capital. 

Expansion

Growth is vital for successful businesses that want to achieve operational excellence and Asset Finance can help businesses to achieve this. Expansion can take the forms of; hiring new employees, becoming a franchise as well as expanding your premises. If you have the desire to grow your business, discuss your options with Chatsbrook on 01603 733500.

Renovation and Equipment

In recent months, there has been further pressure for the transportation sector to align itself with global targets and to implement contemporary devices in order to achieve optimum efficiency and productivity. The growth and proven assistance of AI, as well as the shift to cleaner models of transport, means that there is now a requirement to invest in the UK transport Industry. With the support of Chatsbrook, you can achieve customised solutions based on company-specific requirements.

The flexibility of Asset Finance enables our clients to grow exponentially…

Typical Assets that we can finance are:

• Drawbar Vehicles
• Rigids
• Trailers
• Tankers
• Curtain Siders
• Specialist Vehicle / Recovery Vehicles
• Buses & Coaches
• Vans (LCV’s)
• Forklifts

(This list is not exhaustive, we offer specialist car and technology finance for businesses in the transport industry too.)

Why choose Chatsbrook?

Operating business with a live network of productive contacts, such as leading UK and world-renowned lenders, Chatsbrook is a well-supported business that is proud to connect transportation businesses with lending opportunities that are both unique and affordable. Our proven expertise in tailored financial services, as well as our solution-focused approach, has helped to support thousands of individual clients and businesses up and down the UK.  

“Chatsbrook aim to make the process of getting finance as seamless as possible- enabling our clients to focus on running their business. We get to understand the workings of a business, which helps us to tailor products to be most suitable for their growth. Talk to us on 01603 733500 about expansion, renewals and replacements of equipment, or how we can aid your cash flow by releasing equity from unencumbered assets”- Chris Hudson, Business Development Manager for the Commercial and Haulage sector.

Tuesday, 05 May 2020

In late March HMRC announced they would be offering support to self-employed businesses by way of a grant of up to 80% of your average earnings over the 2017, 2018 and 2019 tax years. This payment will be a single instalment covering three months and is capped at £7,500. It is also worth noting that this grant will be taxable. 

At the time they estimated it might be mid-June before self-employed businesses received this grant, but the they have now updated their guidance and they seem to be ahead of schedule. This along with the Bounce Back Loans announced this week could be a welcome boost. 

Visit the GOV.UK website here to check your eligibility to claim, using their online tool. You will need your UTR (which will be on any HMRC correspondence including your tax return) and your national insurance number. 

Once completed you will know whether HMRC think you will qualify, and they will estimate a date when you can claim. 

HMRC are not allowing agents to claim on your behalf, so it is really important you set up a government gateway now to allow a claim to be made as soon as possible, once you have taken the eligibility test it will prompt you to either log in or to set up government gateway access.  

Action to take now: 

• Our People section of the MHA Larking Gowen website. 

  Glenn Matthews  

The application process for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme opened on Monday 4 May. The scheme has been set-up to help smaller businesses impacted by coronavirus and is open to companies, partnerships or sole traders who are based in the UK, employ fewer than 250 people and have an annual turnover of no more than £45 million.

Details of the loans are as follows;

• loans range from £2,000 up to 25% of a business’ turnover capped at £50,000
• the loans have a six-year term but early repayment is allowed, without any early repayment fees
• the Government will make a Business Interruption Payment (BIP) to cover the first 12 months of interest payments
• the borrower must pay the interest for the remaining period of the loan. The interest rate on the loan is 2.5%
• no capital repayments are required for the first 12 months
• lenders are not permitted to take personal guarantees, the loans are 100% guaranteed by the government
• there is a one-page application that can be completed online
• no forecast financial information is required for the application
• the applicant’s business needs to derive more than 50% of its income from its trading activity (this does not apply to charities or further-education colleges)

You’re not able to apply for a Bounce Back Loan if you already have a loan in place under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

However, if you’ve already received a loan of up to £50,000 under CBILS, you can transfer it to the Bounce Back Loan scheme. This needs to be arranged with your lender and you have until 4 November 2020 to do so.

How to apply

You can see which lenders have been accredited for the Bounce Back Loans here.

If your current banking provider is on the list, you need to apply for a loan with them in the first instance. Should they not approve your application, you can then apply to other lenders.

The application process can be completed online so visit your bank’s website to find out more.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your usual contact at MHA Larking Gowen, or email [email protected]

You can find contact details on the Our People section of the MHA Larking Gowen website.

James Caley

Tudor Lodge Consultants have recently started working with Herts Flooring and Interiors, an independent, family run business specialising in high-quality flooring and stylish interiors (e.g. rugs, blinds and curtains).

The Herts Flooring and Interiors showroom is located in Hemel Hempstead, and works with industry-leading brands to deliver excellent quality items at competitive prices.

Our SEO specialists have recently started working with this client, using a range of different tactics to boost their website’s search engine rankings and thereby promote online visibility.

What Are Tudor Lodge Doing for Herts Flooring and Interiors?

Our team are helping Herts Flooring to better their search engine rankings in various different ways. Firstly, we begun by creating a list of keywords relating to flooring and carpets, and started plans to optimise the site for these keywords.

We’ve also worked with this client to enhance their site’s user experience, utilising strong images to improve aesthetics and draw people in. Additionally, we have also introduced call-to-action (CTA) buttons on the headers and footers of the pages, better guiding users towards the client’s conversion goals. 

Tudor Lodge have also explored content ideas with Herts Flooring, help to further optimise the site. This has included plans for landing pages with useful, optimised content to boost the site for certain keywords, in addition to discussing blog posts that would help to do the same.

Tudor Lodge have also been working on link research for this client, using majestic to find relevant sites involved in home and design, and approaching these sites for opportunities such as guest blogging.

Through guest blogging, we can then write high-quality, informative pieces for other sites that relate back to Herts Flooring through mentions and links. By having enough reputable sites link back to Herts Flooring, we can help to improve their trust flow, further optimising the site and improving its search engine rankings.

London entrepreneur Tej Kohli makes many sound real estate and entrepreneurial investments. He is passionate about the health of citizens across the world and about artificial intelligence. Kohli has taken an aggressive interest in robotics and computer intelligence since he projects it to be worth $150 trillion within a few years’ time.

Through Kohli Ventures, Kohli is able to mentor young entrepreneurs and help shape the future. He envisions artificial intelligence to leader researchers on the path to cure blindness, and he has made no qualms about investing heavily into this field.

Efforts to Cure Corneal Blindness

Kohli leads an institute that is dedicated entirely to finding a cure for corneal blindness, and it is arguably is greatest body of work. The foundation he runs, which helps to fund the institute, aims to solve more health issues than just blindness. However, it has set a goal to cure corneal blindness by 2035.

While Kohli is rooted in London, he works around the globe to invest in opportunities that will improve impoverished nations. While his expertise is in the technology sector, Kohli also has dealings in the real estate industry as well.

Philanthropic Efforts

Kohli is hitching is legacy on whether or not he leads the way to find a cure for corneal blindness. Through his non-profit foundation, he does more than just work towards this cure. His team also provides education and other resources to the under-privileged, and his foundation actively works to help third world countries.

He became interested in corneal blindness because of its effect on global health as a whole. Since most people with visual impairments and blindness are living in poor countries, finding a cure is going to help improve the entire economics of countries.

Entrepreneurship 

Kohli also has a strong desire to mentor young entrepreneurs. In fact, many of his mentees have gone on to create their own very successful business. He has a separate company, Kohli Ventures, to lead the way on his entrepreneur endeavors. Kohli Ventures primarily focuses on technological companies in areas like artificial intelligence and robotics.

It is interesting how Kohli has tied his interest in the world of global health initiatives to his interest in artificial intelligence. Investing in intelligence will help improve global health as it tackles one problem at a time.

He is relying on his investment in artificial intelligence to directly affect the other causes he cares about in global health. By improving robotics and computer intelligence, that can directly correlate to improving global health and possibly curing corneal blindness. All of Kohli’s interests are joined together to accomplish an overall goal of improving the world.

Personal

In addition to his professional pursuits, Kohli is married and a father of two teenagers. In his free time, he also enjoys ballroom dancing and is a car enthusiast. While he works and travels globally, he and his family are based out of London where his children attend school and he is an active member of the local community.

A positive start to the year

Having worked on some high-quality sales and acquisition mandates for clients throughout the 2019 and achieving a record year, the Corporate Finance team at MHA Larking Gowen were feeling positive going into 2020. The trend continued with a busy start to the year, with new transactions coming into the pipeline and then…Coronavirus struck!

A recent report from Mark-to-Market titled ‘April 2020 valuation barometer’ painted a positive picture in terms of deal volumes and values achieved across the UK mergers and acquisition markets (M&A) for the period 1 January to 31 March 2020 (Q1). Deal volumes in March were in fact up by 15% on March 2019 and were consistent with the trailing 12 month average of circa 300 deals per month. So, no impact from Coronavirus? Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Nearly all completed deals in this timeframe would have been a long way down the track before Coronavirus really hit home and the effective “lockdown” since 23 March. Most of these deals completed in early March before Coronavirus, there was a perfect storm of circumstances that led to an acceleration of deals in the period to early March which has inflated the deal numbers.

So why was that?

There was a flurry of deal activity in the lead up to the Budget announcement on 11 March with lots of speculation around potential restrictions or even the abolishment of Entrepreneurs Relief. We were operating in a marketplace where the single biggest tax relief for business sellers was under threat. Therefore several deals were accelerated to complete prior to 11 March 2020, to make sure Entrepreneurs Relief was “banked” whilst it was still available.

The relief previously applied to a lifetime limit of capital gains of £10,000,000, but post Budget this was slashed to £1,000,000. With potentially significant sums of tax at state it was important for advisors to get deals done for their clients before the Budget announcement. At MHA Larking Gowen we had two transactions complete the week before budget day, with one completing on 10 March. As a result of the changes made the next day, we saved the sellers hundreds of thousands of pounds in Capital Gains Tax.

So what now?

Many transactions that were about to go live or were in the early stages are either now on hold or have been abandoned all together due to the current uncertainty. Speaking with peers across the board it would seem as though Q2 could be slow for transactions being completed. M&A deal sourcing specialists, Dealsuite, recently issued a report titled “Impact of the corona outbreak on the UK Mergers & Acquisitions mid-market”. In the report dealmakers were surveyed about what they felt the impacts of coronavirus would be on deal activity going forward. This painted a bleak picture with four out of five respondents thinking the market would take three-six months to stabilise again and almost two thirds of advisors expecting at least a 25% reduction in activity.

Is it all bad?

Whilst it might seem a bleak picture for M&A activity in the current climate, there will always be exceptions to the rule and deals will still be done. Some businesses involved in staple foods and goods, software and tech, and those involved in medical and care are still performing well and in a lot of cases better, due to the current crisis.

We’ve seen this firsthand with most transactions that are still actively in progress fitting the business sectors above and we completed a deal in the tech sector only last week.

Once we emerge from lockdown it is likely that there will be opportunities for those well positioned businesses to gain market share through acquisition of complementary businesses who perhaps have not managed the down-turn as well. So, we would expect to see some accelerated M&A activity moving into Q3. In addition, business owners will still need to retire, and corporate groups will still need to restructure and buy and sell subsidiaries, so this pent-up demand to sell will release again in due course. However, this crisis is likely to have a downward impact on business valuations and many business owners might be reassessing their aspirations against potentially facing another crisis or down-turn in the future.

What can we be doing now?

Regardless of whether you’re looking to buy or sell a business in the short, medium or long term, there are lots of things that can be done now. James Lay’s recent blog ‘Selling your business amid COVID-19’ highlights some of these and is well worth a read.

There is also some great content available from our business advisory team around surviving the current climate, adapting to the new climate and thriving once markets return which can be found here.

For acquirers, I expect that we will see accelerated M&A processes in the next few months as things start to transition back to normal and government support is withdrawn. Therefore, for successful businesses or serial investors there could be bargains to be had on the acquisition front. If you would like to be made aware of potential acquisition opportunities as they arise, please get in touch.

For potential sellers there is still lots that can be done in this downtime and preparing for the due diligence process would be time well spent. Likewise, if there are key members of staff that need incentivising to help bring the business value back up to what it was pre-COVID-19 then now might be a good time to get an exit focused Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme in place.

The Corporate Finance team are also highly experienced in advising SME business owners on business planning and exit services and profit improvement programs. If you’d like to explore any of the above in further detail, then please get in touch.

Call 0330 024 0888 or email [email protected]. You can also find contact details on the Our People section our website.

Jack Minns

Your new work space may be perfect (the delicious end of the kitchen table, the sunny corner of the living room or away from it all in the quiet loft room) … but your body may be feeling differently! 

We know how important it is to stay mentally and physically healthy right now, and we would like to offer our fellow Norfolk Chamber members a discount on a selection of our ergonimical and innovative chairs. Our team comprises of health professionals with a wealth of expertise and experience, including: – Ergonomists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Health and Safety consultants (we know our stuff).

If you are interested then drop us a line, or give us a call and we will whizz over the details! 

Tim Evans, Director  07919 911 774

Employers have until 6 July to report any taxable benefits and expenses provided to their employees (including company directors) during the 2020 tax year on the forms P11D, and will have to settle any National Insurance arising on these by 19 July.

These forms cover everything from company cars to employee loans and Mat Waters, a Manager in our Halesworth and Lowestoft offices, will be writing a series of articles covering the main areas to be considered when it comes to both providing and reporting benefits and expenses.

The series began by looking at company vehicles and continues by looking at a number of other benefits which can be provided to employees and directors during the year.

Interest-free loans

While interest free loans to employees and directors fall under the heading of employee benefits, if used right they are a cheap, convenient method of personal borrowing if the company has sufficient funds in the bank.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will only treat an interest-free loan as a benefit if it exceeds £10k to any one employee and, if this amount is exceeded, the taxable benefit is equal to the interest on the loan at their official rate of 2.5%. This makes borrowing an amount of up to £10k a more attractive option than an employee or director going into their overdraft or taking out a personal loan.

However, as is often the case, other taxes need to be taken into consideration.

While taking a £10k loan would not give rise to a taxable benefit, HMRC understandably don’t want company directors taking what would be a tax-free £10k out of a company as a loan rather than either salary or dividends. Should a loan be taken out by a ‘participator’ (a person, or spouse of a person, who has a shareholding or in the company) then the loan is required to be repaid within 9 months of the end of the corporation tax period in which it is taken. This means that for a company with a year end of 31 March 2021 could provide a loan of £10,000 on 1 April 2020 which – provided it is repaid by 31 December 2021 (21 months later) – would not give rise to any tax charge on either the director or company.

Should the loan above not be repaid by this date, the company would be liable to tax at a rate of 32.5% on the outstanding amount of the loan at 31 December 2021 regardless of it was under £10k.

With being just one day late making the difference between having a 21 month interest-free loan or a tax charge of £3,250, it is important that the loan rules are understood and so be sure to seek advice from your usual contact if you are wanting to withdraw money from your company in excess of your salary and dividend package.

Private health and critical illness insurance

When considering if an insurance policy should be treated as a taxable benefit or not, it is important to determine who the beneficiary of such a policy would be.

For most “Key Man” policies, these are the company insuring themselves against the loss of income and additional costs resulting from the disruption caused by losing a key member of staff due to illness or injury. So long as the policy is drafted so that the company is the beneficiary then no benefit arises on the individuals) covered. In essence, the company is insuring its employees like it would any other assets.

For policies where an employee or their family will be the beneficiaries of the insurance pay out then the employee in question will be in receipt of a benefit equal to the annual insurance premium.

When a financial services organisation proposes any policy relating to healthcare, critical illness or death in service it is important to establish not only the tax treatment but also the employment benefit position. The policy where the beneficiary is a single director could be sold on the basis that the premiums are allowable against corporation tax, but this is dependent on it being treated as a taxable benefit which, without knowing their personal tax treatment, might end up incurring more tax personally than it saves in the company. 

In circumstances where the cost of the premium is allowable for corporation tax, it is important to remember that the employer is required to pay Class 1A National Insurance of 13.8% on any benefit reported on forms P11D so the overall saving will be nearer 11% rather than at the 19% rate of corporation tax. 

Accommodation

As part of an employment, rent-free or subsidised accommodation could be provided which is either owned or leased by the employer.

This is one of the more complex areas of employee benefits where, depending on the circumstances, this could be exempt from being assessed as a benefit or involve a calculation requiring the property’s cost, the 1973 gross rating value as assessed by the local authority or the value at the time the employee moved in.

The provision of accommodation will be exempt from being treated as an employee benefit if it can be demonstrated that the employee can’t perform their work duties properly without it. One example of this would be if a farm cottage was provided to an agricultural worker who was required to be on hand throughout the day to tend to livestock. There are also certain industries where it is usually expected for accommodation to be provided, such as a pub manager living upstairs, which can also be treated as exempt.

When determining if an exemption applies, it is important to distinguish between employees and directors as the latter would need to demonstrate they are a full-time employee and hold less than 5% of the shares in the company.

Where an exemption won’t apply, it is important to discuss the situation with your usual tax advisor so that the history of the property and its use in the company can be reviewed and the correct benefit calculation carried out.

Your usual tax adviser will also be able to consider any other property tax implications as over the past few years HMRC have introduced new tax charges on properties held within companies.

Should the company own or lease any residential property with a market value of £500,000 at 1 April 2017 then this will fall within HMRC’s Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) regime and could be required to pay an annual charge starting from £3,700 if it cannot be demonstrated that the property is used within the business e.g. let out to a third party on a commercial basis, being developed for resale or occupied by a farm worker as in the example above. 

Other assets provided for personal use

A company may also provide other assets to its employees for their personal use other than cars, vans, or property. One example of this would be if an employer provides IT and entertainment equipment to an employee for their personal use, while retaining ownership.

The employee will receive a taxable benefit based on 20% of the market value when the asset was first provided to them, plus any annual running costs relating to the equipment. If the employer rents the asset, then the annual rental charges should be substituted for the 20% of market value if these are a higher figure.

Where there is a business element of usage required as part of providing the asset, such as a takeaway delivery driver being provided with a moped, then the benefit can be reduced by the proportion of business use.

What can be paid to an employee without a benefit arising?

In the third and final instalment of the series I will be looking at what can be paid to employees without needing to be reported and how to ensure what employers consider to be business expenses don’t end up being assessed as a taxable benefit on their employees.

For more information, get in touch. 

Whilst it is undoubtedly true that for most businesses the outbreak of COVID-19 or coronavirus has been extremely damaging, for some SME’s the effects have been positive. Who cannot think of the small butchers, bakers and garden centres, usually competing with larger competition, who are now busier than ever. I hear, in meetings, the cries of “long may it continue” and “finally the value of the SME is coming through.” Whilst of course, it is great news, SME’s should take this time to review their business model. After all, an upturn of sales is great, but maintaining business post COVID-19 is the aim. As its effects, we know, will not be felt forever.

 Qualifiers and Differentiators What is a business qualifier?

A business qualifier is an offering that your consumer expects to receive before doing business with a certain company. This can be, for example as simple as the ability to take a card payment, or a set accreditation, or service offering.

What is a business differentiator?

A differentiator is one of the elements of your business that sets you apart from your competition. A differentiator for a company such as Google is their user base, algorithm and speed of search.

Maintaining Business By Knowing Both

Right now, customers’ normal buying decisions may well be somewhat skewed. So it is important to understand their usual buying profile and what they see as a qualifier and a differentiator. Think about your business offering and what customers must have, and what sets you apart. An easy one to relate to is a butchers, compare what customers must have, to what sets them apart. Below are some examples of each based on an average customer for this example.

Example Business Qualifiers

Reviewing that example of the butcher, examples of a qualifier would be:

• Flexible payment options, the ability to pay with cash or card.
• Good quality cuts.
• Array of choice.
• Within a certain distance from home.
• Opening hours that suit.

Example Business Differentiators

Things that may differentiate a butcher from most of its competition, namely supermarkets are:

• The ability to get to know your butcher, so gaining feedback and cooking suggestions.
• Provenance of the food, knowing where it has come from.
• The extreme quality of the meat compared to others.
• The much wider choice available, including different meat types.
• Ordering exactly how much you want, so less waste.

This is of course a non-exhaustive list, but outlines the point.

Qualifiers As A Given

Quite simply, make sure you offer things that make people even consider buying from you. Right now, customers may well be okay with paying cash to small businesses as the wait for entry to the premises isn’t so long. Or that you are offering delivery, but a caveat is they must pay cash. Right now, it is an inconvenience, but the situation outweighs that. In future, it will hamper the buying decision, making the business unviable in the future.In 2010, six out of 10 transactions were in cash, but that has long been overtaken by debit cards. Are certain business practices making it harder for customers to do business with you? If so, change them.

Leverage Differentiators

It is so important to get your message across, to make customers remember just why it is that they bought from you to begin with. Or what extra value they got from buying from your business. Remember to get that message through whilst sales are up to reinforce the opportunity for potential sales in the future.

Keep In Touch With Customers

A local butcher sending out a fortnightly email may sound to those that do not do it, odd. My response is short and sweet. Why wouldn’t you? Adhering to GDPR regulation (and this post isn’t about that) think about getting customer emails and keeping in touch. Start such marketing before the lockdown ends, and keep it going into the future. If you can make your customers purchasing habitual now, it will continue too. Email marketing is just one way to reinforce this habitual purchasing.

This post was adapted from the original blog – Maintaining Business Post COVID-19

Tuesday, 28 April 2020

On Monday 27 April the Chancellor unveiled a new scheme aimed at providing more assistance to small businesses. This is thought to be in response to calls from business representatives for more to be done to help small businesses who need an immediate cash injection to keep operating.

The ‘Bounce Back Loans’ will allow small businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 via the fast-track finance scheme. The cash will be available within days, and in some cases 24 hours.  The Government will provide lenders with a 100% guarantee for the loan. 

The application process has been designed to be more straightforward than the existing Coronavirus Business Loan Interruption Scheme, with no forward-looking business viability tests or eligibility criteria for the finance.

In response to the announcement, the British Chambers of Commerce Director General, Adam Marshall, said:

‘The Chancellor has demonstrated he is listening to the concerns of our business communities and taking steps to get cash to the front line where it is needed’.

He continued:

‘This new route for our smallest companies to apply quickly and get a fast decision will be crucial to those who have struggled to get a CBILS loan’.

As the loan was only announced yesterday, full details of how it will operate will follow. Current details of the scheme are as follows:

• businesses will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.
• loans will be interest free for the first 12 months, with a low standardised interest charge for the remaining period of the loan.
• no repayments will be due for the first 12 months.
• the scheme will launch for applications on Monday 4 May.
• businesses can apply online through a short and simple form.
• successful applications will be paid out within days.
• loans will be 100% guaranteed by the government.

The loans will require repayment and the cashflow impact of future repayments will need to be considered when applying for the scheme.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your usual contact at MHA Larking Gowen, or email [email protected]

You can find contact details on the Our People section of the MHA Larking Gowen website.

James Caley

Friday, 24 April 2020

Whilst the Government has communicated the support available for businesses and the self-employed, for many, navigating the numerous assistance packages available can be a confusing and stressful experience.

We’re here to help as much as we can and I hope you are finding our [email protected] and we will be more than happy to help.

Tessa Brown 

Hosting event digitally proves popular with potential franchisees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, TaxAssist Accountants is holding Virtual Discovery Days on Zoom, where potential franchisees can find out more about the business model, technical and business development support on offer, as well as business planning and finance raising, from the comfort of their own home.

Six delegates joined the first Virtual Discovery Day held on the 21st April and praised the format of the day.

“The day was excellent, informative, useful and seamless. The chat function worked particularly well and I was most impressed with the business plan as it highlighted the value of the investment required,” said one delegate.

“TaxAssist ran a very professional and informative virtual Discovery Day in April 2020, which provided me with a good starting point for assessing the franchise opportunity. The virtual format gave all participants the chance to address queries either during or between sessions,” enthused another.

David Paulson, Senior Manager, Global Franchise Recruitment at TaxAssist, said: “Ten members of staff logged into the meeting at various points during the day. It ran without a hitch, which bodes well for two further Virtual Discovery Days we have planned for Saturday 16th May and Tuesday 16th June.

“We’ve had very positive feedback from the delegates who joined us and we have now following up with them individually with telephone one-to-ones. I’d encourage anyone interested in finding out more about our future events to give me a call on 0800 0188297 or visit our website for more information.”

Although all TaxAssist Support Centre staff are working from home, they are fully operational, and therefore TaxAssist Accountants is still able to welcome new joiners to the franchise. The June course will still be going ahead online, with two further courses planned for later in the year. TaxAssist Accountants is a full member of the British Franchise Association and is ranked 21st in the Accountancy Age Top 50 rankings. It has also won ‘5 Star Franchisee Satisfaction’ for seven years running from independent research agency WorkBuzz and the Support Centre has recently been awarded with ‘5 Star Employer’ status for the second year in a row based on feedback from its 60 strong work force. To request attendance on a virtual Discovery Day, please forward your CV and a completed application form to [email protected]