Tag Archive for Small-business Banking

OakNorth offers mortgages to small business entrepreneurs

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
OakNorth, the specialist business bank, is to offer mortgages to small business owners and entrepreneurs for the first time.
It believes that SME business owners are under-served by traditional mortgage lenders because they cannot prove regular income. Instead, they are often asset rich with money locked up in their businesses or property.
OakNorth will lend from £500,000 and plans to differentiate itself by offering quick turnarounds on decisions and taking a holistic view of an entrepreneur’s finances. (In exceptional cases, it will lend from £250,000).
It plans to close £260m worth of mortgages by the end of 2019, carving out a 5-10pc share of the £4.3bn residential mortgage market by year-end.
One in 10 business owners in the UK are unable to access the finance they need to purchase their first home, says OakNorth.
The six largest UK banks dominate 77pc of the mortgage market but often find it unviable to create bespoke mortgages for SME business owners. Entrepreneurs who may be asset rich but regular income poor usually find it difficult to pass the high street banks’ lending criteria, as most banks only accept established and regular payments as “income”.
The challenger bank has taken on three veteran

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Government launches scheme to help fund small builders

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small builders are set for a boost as the government launches a scheme to fund home building developments.
The state-owned British Business Bank will make up to £1bn of guarantees available to banks that that lend to small builders. This will reduce the amount of capital these banks are required to hold against such small builder finance, encouraging additional lending to smaller developers.
The chancellor pledges to help small and medium-sized builders in last autumn’s budget in an effort to hit the 300,000 new homes every year.
The BBB has struck deals with specialist lenders to help with small builder finance, but this is the first time a dedicated scheme has been set up for the industry.
ENABLE Build is a new variant of the BBB’s existing ENABLE guarantee programme, which takes on a portion of the lender’s risk on a portfolio of loans to smaller businesses, in return for a fee.
The scheme is open to applications from banks where at least 80pc of the loans are to developments in England. (Housing policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is developed to their governments.)
The proportion of homes put up by small builders has halved since the late

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What are the best business bank accounts in the UK?

Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Having the right bank account is integral to running your small business.

Compare Business Bank Account Deals
Compare the UK’s top business bank accounts from the high street to the alternatives
1. What type of business bank account are you interested in?
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Switching Bank Account
Account With No Credit Checks
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UK Finance has teamed up with UK banking providers to pull together some guidelines on what you need before you apply for a business bank account.
These rules only apply to existing businesses that have a turnover of less than £6.5 million, have a clearly-defined ownership structure and all of the business’ owners operate in the UK.
In general, UK Finance recommends that you get the following bits of documentation ready in advance. Most business current account providers will be looking a few key pieces of information.
One document to prove your identity:

Your full and valid UK or foreign passport
Your national identity photocard
Your full UK paper driving licence
Your full UK or foreign photocard driving licence as issued by a member state of the EU or the EEA

One document to prove your address in the UK:

Your full UK

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NatWest doubles its Growth Fund pot for small businesses to £6bn

NatWest has doubled its small firms Growth Fund pot to £6 billion, citing the need to help SMEs to help navigate Brexit disruption. The bank launched its £3 billion NatWest Growth Fund programme in May 2018, and £2.9 billion of that initial tranche has already been committed — £800 million to green environmentally friendly initiatives.

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Banking – the future for small to medium sized businesses

There is nothing small about the small to medium sized business (SME) sector in the UK. In 2018 it accounted for 60% of all private sector employment, according to the Federation of Small Businesses, with a combined annual turnover of £2 trillion making it a significant contributor the economic health of the country.  This makes
The post Banking – the future for small to medium sized businesses appeared first on Small Business.

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Barclays launches £15bn Brexit fund to help small business through Brexit

Barclays has announced a £14.7 billion lending fund to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) negotiate Brexit and beyond. The Barclays Brexit fund, which is a three-year commitment, will offer the following: – Business loans, commercial mortgages and overdrafts up to £250,000 working capital – Cash flow funding for investment in growth, management buy-outs and
The post Barclays launches £15bn Brexit fund to help small business through Brexit appeared first on Small Business.

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Challenger and digital banks secure new funds to help small businesses

Small businesses are to benefit from £300m of funding through UK banks. Starling Bank, Clearbank and Metro Bank have won grants from RBS to fund small businesses. Starling Bank, the digital bank, has been awarded £100m and pledges to create 398 new jobs in the UK, invest £95 million of its own money and make
The post Challenger and digital banks secure new funds to help small businesses appeared first on Small Business.

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Guide to small business funding Northern Ireland

Despite the uncertainty facing Northern Ireland because of Brexit turmoil, the good news is that European Union small business funding in Northern Ireland will continue until 2023. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) targets investment in R&D technology and offers a mix of grant and financial instruments to support Northern Ireland SMEs. However, because the EU
The post Guide to small business funding Northern Ireland appeared first on Small Business.

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Interview with David Beaty, UK head of business banking at HSBC

David Beaty of HSBC is the UK head of business banking in the commercial banking division and has worked for the bank for 35 years. In this interview, he shares with us how the bank’s services are structured for SMEs, his views on the results of a report on attitudes towards Brexit and how customers
The post Interview with David Beaty, UK head of business banking at HSBC appeared first on Small Business.

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