HB&O is taking practical steps to help viable businesses source the finance they need to develop and grow.

The firm’s Finance Health Check service has been put in place to help businesses where lenders are reluctant to support them, don’t fully understand the way the business operates or the relationship between them has broken down.

It also provides an opportunity for businesses with finance arrangements that have been in place for some time to source funding options that offer better value for money.

Greg Philp, senior manager in HB&O’s business advisory services team, said: “We all recognise that the lives of businesses with real potential are being made more difficult by a variety of funding problems.

“In response, we have developed our free Finance Health Check. The health check takes around an hour, during which one of our experienced finance specialists will look at the issues facing the business and make recommendations.

“For example, if their financing facility is proving more costly than necessary, we can look at renegotiating it on better terms or simply replacing it.

“If they need to raise additional funding – to replace equipment or enable the business to take advantage of opportunities for new orders – we have access to new sources of funding that bypass the banks and can be put in place quickly and more flexibly.

“We can also review financial issues on an ongoing basis, to help keep funding costs down, improve profitability and enhance cash flow.”

With directors and shareholders increasingly putting their own money into their businesses, the Finance Health Check also offers access to specialist documentation that protects personal investments in the event of a business failure.

MGI members who feel that their clients would benefit from HB&O’s Finance Health Check service should contact Greg Philp on 01926 422292 or at greg.philp@hboltd.co.uk or via www.hboltd.co.uk