While the fall-out from uncertainty in the financial markets continues to ripple through the international economy, Cattles Invoice Finance is advising UK companies to consider its unexpected advantages.
The shortage of easy credit could actually help the savvier business to prosper, by forcing banks, advisers, funders and businesses to focus on forging good old-fashioned personal relationships.
Adrian Chambers, regional managing director for Cattles Invoice Finance in Thames Valley and the South West said: "The rapid expansion of financial services over the past decade has played a pivotal role in growing the UK economy to unprecedented levels.
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"However, many businesses on the ground have complained of an increasingly impersonal service from the people they traditionally have turned to for help and advice because of the strength of their close relationship."
These findings are borne out by the results of Cattles' most recent business survey, which showed that 67 per cent of companies preferred face-to-face business advice to new' alternatives such as website information. The same survey also showed that nearly a quarter of UK enterprises feel they have no one to turn to for impartial advice.
"A benefit to the SME emerging from the credit crunch' is that with fewer ready funds available many banks and funding providers are being forced to spend the time and resource to thoroughly understanding a business and its needs before they can make a decision," said Adrian.
"In some respects this is a return to the personal relationships we used to enjoy, where bank managers or advisers would personally know the businesses on their local patch and be able to give them advice tailored to their individual needs.
"This is nothing new for some financiers. Here at Cattles, for example, we have always based our reputation on our ability to provide clients with custom-made solutions to the financial challenges we face because we have taken the time to understand the client's business inside and out. "
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