Our latest nominee to take the seat is Time Finance, where we chatted with their Director of Asset Finance, Carol Roberts about what the lender has been up to this past year. Time Finance provides or arranges approximately £150m each year to support SMEs and currently supports some 20,000 UK businesses.
Time Finance have been nominated for Asset Finance Lender of the Year.
1. How has Time Finance been helping SMEs over the past year?
When the pandemic first hit, we worked swiftly to get our IT and teams set up and working remotely so that we could continue to deliver the same excellent level of customer service, without interruption. It was a crucial time for us to ensure clear and honest communication with our clients and their advisors, so they knew we were able to support them where needed. We helped our clients on a case-by-case basis to identify the tailored support they required – whether that be through forbearance, payment holidays, the rescheduling of lease and loan agreements, or additional funding facilities for headroom and peace of mind. We are also incredibly proud to have remained a constant in the market by staying open for new business and delivering funding support in the form of Asset Finance, Invoice Finance, Loans and Vehicle Finance. Lastly, in December 2020, our group of companies rebranded to Time Finance to consolidate and strengthen our offering, allowing small business owners to access a multi-product range of solutions in one place.
2. Has Time Finance made any changes to their lending to accommodate the difficulties faced by SMEs?
It was important for us to remain a compassionate, yet responsible lender so we made our underwriting criteria more flexible. This enabled us to take a commercial view on any new business opportunities and also tailor unique forbearance solutions to our existing clients. We added two new solutions to our suite of products; firstly by launching a new Asset Finance solution called ‘Low Start’ to drive affordable investment and secondly through our accreditation as a CBILS lending partner with the BBB as we were able to administer CBILS Loan and Asset Finance facilities.
3. What makes Time Finance unique as a lender?
Our strong leadership team is made up of individuals who have a long track record in the financial services industry and are experts in their fields. They drive the delivery of our multi-product proposition which means that we can provide solutions to a range of business challenges from cashflow management, investing in vital equipment, accessing the vehicles a business needs, to a range of loans to support business plans. We are passionate about our clients, putting them at the heart of everything we do and fostering long-standing relationships based on clear communication, flexibility, responsiveness and trust.
4. Do you have any advice for SMEs who are hesitant to take out funding?
We understand that there might be caution but we have seen so many examples of businesses who have innovated to adapt to the restrictions we have had to face, and those businesses are now in a strong position to take advantage of the opportunities that will inevitably arise in the coming months. Don’t hold your business back because the future is still uncertain. Talk to your funder or to your advisors and find the right solution and the right funder which will give you the confidence to invest in your business growth.
5. What can we expect to see from Time Finance now that CBILS has come to a close?
The same excellent level of service and passion to deliver a funding solution that can support businesses come out the other side and to grow and prosper. To do this, we will continue to invest in innovation, with our clients at the centre of these programmes and to improve the range of solutions we are able to deliver to them.
Watch this space for the announcement of the winners of each category of the SME Funding Awards 2021. You can see the full list of nominees here.
