Simon Raper

Director

Commercial Finance Broker, Invoice Finance Provider

North Yorkshire, Yorkshire And The Humber

+2 more

Lancashire
Leeds

Simon is a dedicated professional who consistently goes above and beyond. He makes excellent decisions that are based on effective research and analysis. You...

- July 2020

Add Testimonial

View All

{{ textFileName("Top_Tips_For_Securing_Business_Finance (1).pdf") }}

{{ textFileName("guide to property development finance (3).pdf") }}

We were approached by a client to secure a Commercial Mortgage on a warehouse facility he had previously been renting for his parcel delivery business. The freeholder was looking to retire out to Portugal and gave our client first option to purchase subject to confirmation of funding within 2 weeks and completion within 6 weeks. Given the brief we completed our executive case summary the same day and had an agreement in principle within 24 hours for a 70% advance of £400K tracking at 3.75% over bank base rate with a 1.5% lenders fee. Within three days the commercial valuation was organised and completed with a satisfactory report to hand within the week. Solicitors were instructed in week 2 with all searches and due diligence completed by week 4. Funds drawn and the purchase completed in week 5 ahead of schedule.

Our client had been running a successful York based building company for 10 years and previously had the support of an equity based investor who provided all necessary funds in return for an agreed profit share arrangement . Due to the economic downturn this funding was not available and we were approached to assist in finding support to £1.4 million for the client's next project. Following an initial consultation and fact find with the client we positioned the project with two Merchant Banks whom we knew would be interested in the proposition and the unique location of the development site in this historic City. Within 2 weeks underwriter meetings were complete and an updated project summary report and GDV valuation obtained from Knight Frank. Both underwriters subsequently issued heads of terms and our client accepted the offer that we both felt reflected best overall value and flexibility to complete the scheme.The loan would offer a 50% advance towards the site purchase and 100% of build costs drawn in agreed stages against interim inspection reports – charges to the client were 2% set up fees, 2% on exit of the facility and an interest rate of 7% over 3 month LIBOR For more information on these and other successful projects delivered for our clients around the UK please call us today or submit an enquiry and we will contact you.

Our Client had built up a trading business and portfolio of 48 residential investment properties in the Greater London area. Mortgages on the properties were provided via 11 mortgage providers and the portfolio geared up to an average 58% LTV. Average yield across the portfolio was 7%. The clients wished to leverage further equity from the portfolio to carry out some major repairs / upgrades to 15 of the units and also to give them a pre-purchase facility to acquire further units at significant discounts. A project of this nature needing a significant amount of research and background information was assigned to our Investment Mortgage partner who initially commenced an audit of all mortgage redemptions on the existing finance arrangements alongside an updated valuation audit negotiated on special terms with a major panel valuer. Developing and presenting the executive business plan to 3 major institutions we negotiated a complete progressive re-finance on commercial terms at 3.5% over bank base rate. This was enhanced by a rolling £950K forward purchase ‘cheque book’ facility to allow the clients to take advantage of future purchase opportunities. The clients overall savings on rates added a further £67,000 annually to the bottom line of the business.

Our client had been running a successful foundry business for 11 years and had the opportunity to acquire a castings engineering business as the owner had run in to severe financial difficulties due to a divorce settlement. The business was complimentary to Mr Stevens existing business and would present significant expansion opportunities as well as overall cost savings in managing the combined operations. As well as the freehold property the sale included significant fixed assets, machinery, raw materials and £150K of debtor invoices. Working quickly to negotiate an agreement in principle we organised valuations of the property, full inventory and sales ledger audit. This was concluded within 3 working weeks at which time solicitors were instructed and the client was provided with a combined business loan facility in excess of £1 million covering the Commercial Mortgage over a 30 year term, asset finance over 5 years and an 80% non-recourse factoring facility to cover the sales ledger and recover the existing debt. The Client successfully concluded the purchase within 2 months of the first call to our team.

A local client approached us to assist with the purchase of a new bridge saw to be used for stone masonry work. The asset was a replacement for a 15 year old saw. We put into place a £37,000 asset finance loan at a competitive interest rate with manageable monthly payments over a 5 year term. The business is now able to operate more efficiently with updated machinery.

Expertise

Business Finance
Business Loans
Asset Finance
cash flow finance
Property Development Loans
property development finance
property refurbishment finance
property refurbishment loans
commercial property mortgages
commercial property finance
Buy to Let mortgages
buy to let finance
Bridge Loans
Bridging Loans
bridging finance
Invoice Finance
Invoice Discounting
Invoice Factoring
spot factoring
CBILS Loans
CBILS Finance

Summary

Helping Businesses Source the Finance They Need to Grow

A Commercial Finance Broker with over 20 years experience in the SME sector working in senior management roles involving financial management and planning, purchasing and budgetary control. Held board level positions with two property development and investment companies and has successfully managed several property development projects.

Specialties:

Property Development Finance
Commercial Property Mortgages
Bridging Finance
Asset Finance
Working Capital Solutions

If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail please feel free message me or view more details at www.equinoxfinance.co.uk

Experience

Equinox Commercial Finance

Director
- Current

Education History

MBA

University of Stirling Business School
2003 - 2005

A high quality programme offering a unique combination of general management skills and specific specialisms.
MSc Property Development

The Robert Gordon University
2010 - 2013

The MSc Property Development aims to provide a greater understanding of the development process, and correspondingly adds depth to the understanding of the broad economic and business context within which the industry operates.