Agreement to be support advisors to Beer & Young Ltd

In March 2010 Going For Grants signed a Business Development Agreement with Beer & Young Ltd, London.

Beer & Young has been established since 1998 and offers a range of services to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) that are typically facing pressing financial issues. They act for clients that often require help on an urgent basis and always aim to deliver solutions rapidly to meet their needs. Their services include the following:

Turnaround/Urgent Investment
Company Re-Structuring (e.g. Company Voluntary Arrangements)
Accelerated Business Sales
HMRC Negotiation
Turnaround Consultancy

The above services are delivered by their very experienced team of business professionals who fully understand the pressures facing business owners/managers.

Their principal office is in the centre of London, however, they have representation in all the major regions of the UK and a very extensive network of contacts within the SME community – including government agencies (e.g. HMRC and Business Links), all major banks, asset based lenders, legal practices, accountancy firms, and many other professional services providers, which now includes Going for Grants.

Contact Details for Beer & Young:
Website: http://www.beerandyoung.com
Address: Painters Hall, 9 Little Trinity Lane, London EC4V 2AD
Contact: Nicholas Young, Managing Director; nick.young@beerandyoung.com
Phone: 020 7329 6886

How Struggling Companies Get an Injection of Business Finance

In the recession of 2009/2010 many companies are going through cash flow problems brought on by poor sales, few new sales leads and financial obligations such as employee payroll constantly looming. Business finance is needed, but seems impossible to obtain. In a downward spiral, the company may easily start to lose their own sense of confidence, lose morale, and lose the confidence of their suppliers. This can be a lethal mix. If suppliers even start to believe in a companies inability to pay the bill, they’ll understandably require it up-front which makes the cash flow much more difficult. Then what about the banks and the company overdraft facility?

Companies such as Financial Rescue in London are key players in the Turnaround Finance industry that generally finds success by injecting business finance into the company through an industry expert who has ready funds he or she would like to invest. They need to believe that the company has a fundamentally sound business model and that the problems can be rectified. If they can, the wealthy expert will provide the business funding and generally take a position on the company board as a director (not necessarily, or usually, a majority director) and advise as to changes that are required. The changes can be painful – but since it’s now a third party that is making the changes they are often more palatable because of the acceptance of the position the company was in and the new capital provided.

Admittedly, business can be tough, and changes in a struggling company can be tough. But now the company has another shareholder and one with experience in the industry segment with a mandate to make changes. The company that was struggling is now in better shape and is returned to financial health. What may have looked bleak now looks bright and the company can continue to trade in a competitive environment, even a recessionary one.

Business Angels Adding Value in Turnaround

Guest Article: Declan Williams, Beer & Young – Turnaround Investment Solutions

‘Business Angels Adding Value in Turnaround’

The turnaround market has always been fertile ground for business angel investors. They usually bring sector skills and much needed positivity to re-energise a distressed SME, as well as the ‘oxygen’ of investment. Often what is needed is the ability to act quickly and make decisions that protect the value of the business. This is where the incumbent owners/management can benefit enormously by working alongside another entrepreneurial figure who will act as a catalyst to simply get things done.

It is easy to be critical when a business starts to struggle and the management do not put a recovery plan in place. People don’t plan to get in trouble, so when they do, it is not surprising that they make mistakes and fail to address the critical issues confronting them. Emotion can take over and simply hoping things get better is a common theme. Business angels will be empathetic and many will have experienced similar challenges themselves. However, they have the benefit of being able to take a ‘helicopter view’ and the skills to execute a recovery plan.

Retaining and protecting goodwill are key issues in distressed situations. Business angels will engage with the stakeholders and work alongside them to put the business back on much firmer ground. This will mean talking to customers, suppliers, bankers, employees, landlords, etc. Relationships need to be re-built and stabilised to ensure the recovery plan can be delivered. The risk profile of the investor is also significantly reduced as threats to the business are dealt with.  

At Beer & Young we are seeing increasing numbers of new business angels registering (now over 1000) with the Beer Group and showing an appetite for turnaround opportunities. They typically look to invest between £50,000 and £1,000,000. This is great news for our clients as there is a significant correlation between the volume of registered investors and the chances of successfully raising funding. New investors are the most active and keen to leverage their skills at the earliest opportunity.

Although the green shoots of recovery seem to have arrived there is always a lag effect in post recessionary periods. Many thousands of SMEs are still undercapitalised and struggling. However, many of these businesses now have the opportunity to raise business angel capital and a route to market via Beer & Young.

Thankfully there is a stronger recovery culture now than has been evident previously and we firmly believe business angels will have an increasing role to play in helping UK plc back to health. We never like seeing SMEs going bust and rarely do we come across situations where something positive cannot be achieved. It is very rewarding when you help a struggling business receive investment and successful relationships develop between like minded entrepreneurial people.

Contact declan.williams@beerandyoung.com to find out more about how Beer & Young help struggling businesses or if you are interested in turnaround investment.