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Latest News from Business Loan Now - The Charlbury Group expands into commercial mortgage/business loan arrears visits

The team will compile reports containing information gathered from both desk-based research and field visits. Such visits will be able to report on key information from as simple as whether the business is open and still trading to more in-depth information gained from an interview with the borrower.

At this visit the agent can obtain copies of the accounts, details of trading figures and the reasons for the arrears.

Paul Duckworth, director at The Charlbury Group said:

“The importance of local knowledge when deciding what course of action to take with a commercial mortgage or business loan in arrears has never been more important. The challenge for business loan lenders without a nationwide network of staff is that when a borrower does not answer phone calls or respond to letters there is little option but to proceed down the repossession route."

"We're finding that lenders are struggling to find enough people 'on the ground' to make contact with borrowers."

“Our role is to gather as much information on the business as possible and pass this back to the business loan lender. Armed with this information, the lender or business loan manager can make an informed decision about how best to proceed and take the most appropriate action."

"Our agents are also tasked with making contact with the borrower and confirming how and when communication between themselves and the business loan lender can be established.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - AMI supports stamp duty proposals - 3 February, 2010

Robert Sinclair, AMI Director, said: “The current Stamp Duty regime distorts the market and prevents first time buyers from getting a foot on the property ladder.”

“The Stamp Duty holiday last year was a welcome piece of common sense from Government. And the Conservative plans to raise the Stamp Duty threshold to £250,000 would provide a welcome boost to many first-time-buyers and also provide assistance to first time movers in many parts of the country. This would do much to support the housing market.”

”However, what we urgently need is a more fundamental review of this antiquated tax.”

This could also have a general knock-on effect on other forms of finance being more readily available such as secured loans, business loans and bridging loans.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - More Barclays cash available for SMEs

The scheme enables Barclays to make business loans available to viable businesses that, because they cannot offer sufficient security to meet normal commercial business loan lending, would not otherwise be able to get the finance for their business to survive and grow.

Barclays has already made available over £150 million in EFG business loans in the last year, or almost one in every four EFG business loans across the UK.

Steve Cooper, managing director of Barclays Local Business, said: "Time and again over the last year EFG has proven to be a superb way to support worthy businesses in the form of business loan finance. We’re a big believer in EFG - through it we’ve been able to assist over 1,650 businesses with business loans.

"The new business loan funding we’re announcing is going to continue that good work, to help more businesses become successful and help pull the UK out of recession.

"Enterprise Finance Guarantee covers a key gap in the market - companies that are viable, perhaps even strong, but could not get a business loan because they do not have sufficient security."

Trade, Investment and Small Business Minister Lord Davies said: "The Enterprise Finance Guarantee has helped thousands of viable businesses access the business loan finance they need to withstand the recession and prepare for recovery. Following its recent extension, it will continue to play a vital role in encouraging enterprise and investment and driving productivity and growth throughout the UK economy."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - 100% commercial mortgage for medical sector unveiled

Surgeries, pharmacies, opticians, care homes and nursing homes can borrow from £30,000 upwards for between seven to 30 years. Variable rates start from 2.51% over Bank of England base rate or LIBOR.

This business loan product also includes a ’goodwill’ element, allowing applicants to borrow above the fair net worth value of the property.

Crystal says that account serviceability will be the key aspect of every decision, and up-to-date management accounts will be required.

Roger Dewsbery, senior underwriter at Crystal Commercial Funding, said: "This is the first 100% business loan product we have launched since the start of the recession, and we have selected the medical sector because of its robustness and the opportunities therein.

"Our market research has shown that there are literally thousands of businesses for sale, most of which produce a very healthy turnover but which are not considered on a going-concern basis by the current owners. Now this business loan product is available, it opens up a whole new spectrum of potential buyers."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Small business loan plan unveiled

In return for a fee, the state will, in effect, insure banks against companies defaulting on the business loan repayments.

But there are concerns that £20bn will not be enough to get the banks lending sufficient funds to help businesses get access to much needed cash.

The Conservatives want ministers to go further and underwrite £50bn of business loans.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the proposals would target "genuine business needs".

Speaking at prime minister's questions, Gordon Brown described the measures as "real help now to deal with specific problems".

Alan Duncan, shadow secretary of state for business, responded by dismissing the measures as: "Too little, too late, too complicated... a small bandage on a massive wound."

New business loans

Central to the plan is a £10bn Working Capital Scheme designed to help banks lend much needed capital to small and medium-sized businesses.

The government will provide guarantees on 50% of £20bn short term business loans to businesses with a turnover of up to £500m.

"The £10bn injection to banks represents a guarantee to enable them to free up working capital to sustain exisiting business loans and create new ones," Lord Mandelson said.

"A condition of [banks] getting the money will be that they negotiate with the government on what capital will be freed up," he added.

He said that some of the capital made available as a result of the guarantee had to be used for new lending.

Bank lending would be targeted at "innovative, viable and growing [companies] that are finding it difficult to access working capital", he added.

He also conceded that there would inevitably be some defaulting on the business loans, and that £225m had been put aside to cover repayments that could not be made.

The government is also setting up an Enterprise Guarantee Scheme as part of the support package. This will secure up to £1.3bn in additional business loans to companies with a turnover of up to £25m.

This money will go to "smaller, viable, credit worthy firms hit by the downturn," said Lord Mandelson. These companies will be able to borrow a maximum of £1m, with 75% guaranteed by the government. The money can be used for working capital - to pay wages for example - or for new investment, he said.

The banks must certify that these business loans are in addition to loans that they would otherwise make.

Finally, the government is setting up a £75m Capital for Enterprise Fund specifically for businesses with high levels of debt that have "exhausted traditional forms of financing", said Lord Mandelson.

Fifty million pounds will be provided by the government and £25m by the major banks.

Lord Mandelson also said that the government was in discussions with credit insurance providers about providing similar guarantees on money owed by small businesses to their suppliers.

"Businesses are critically in need of cash-flow. Any move to get banks lending again will be seen as good news at this bleak time," said the British Chamber of Commerce's director-general David Frost.

"A government promise to guarantee individual business loans to businesses is not only sensible, it's crucial."

'Too little'

However, some commentators believe that larger guarantees will be needed.

"Twenty billion pounds is not a very large number in the context of the problem. I would be a lot happier if the scheme was a lot larger," said Jon Moulton, managing partner of private equity firm Alchemy Partners.

Martin Weale at the Institute of Economic and Social Research said: "It's been clear for months that something like this is needed. I'm not sure it is on an adequate scale.

"My guess is that it won't be enough. After a few months it will look like another of the government's half measures."

"This is a useful contribution but it won't fix the problem," said BBC business editor Robert Peston.

'Expensive mistake'

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the government appeared to be offering a belated version of the £50bn scheme floated by the Tories several weeks ago.

"Let us hope that they will properly implement this Conservative policy rather than a pale imitation, or else they run the risk of repeating the mistakes of their expensive temporary VAT cut and achieving nothing," he said.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said: "The government should stop messing around with stunts and wheezes and ensure that the banks owned or part-owned by taxpayers operate as state banks maintaining lending for the economy."

Business failures

The British Bankers Association, which represents the banks, said its latest data showed that in October and November, growth in lending to small businesses slowed towards the end of 2008, though it remained above 2007 levels.

Business leaders have said that the lack of available finance has played a part in the downturn of the UK economy, which the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) described as a "frightening deterioration" towards the end of 2008.

Separate data from Equifax found that the number of business failures in 2008 was 18.2% higher than in 2007.

In another development, the chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, Mervyn Davies, has been made a life peer and trade minister.

The BBC's Nick Robinson says he will, in effect, replace the ex-head of the Confederation of British Industry, Digby Jones, who left in the last cabinet reshuffle.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Lower business loan lending to companies - 12 January, 2010

Total business loan lending stocks stand at £55.6 billion, while deposit levels are at £54.5 billion.

Commenting on the data, BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said: "Recent Bank of England surveys have suggested that while the availability of business loan finance has been improving, business loan application volumes are subdued.

BBA figures show small business demand for new business loans is running below corresponding levels of a year earlier and appears to have stabilised at just under £600 million a month.

“This lower volume of business loan lending is not surprising, as small businesses, under pressure from difficult trading conditions, are repaying borrowing and postponing their investment intentions. Despite this economic backdrop, structured business loan lending continues to rise and is 4% higher than a year earlier, while more than 2,000 small businesses are establishing a new banking relationship every working day."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Should commercial mortgages and business loans be regulated?

The FSA and the Treasury have both published proposals to regulate the buy to let mortgage market. If these proposals are adopted, the distinction between consumers taking out a mortgage to buy their own home and investors taking out a mortgage or business loan to finance a buy to let business will no longer exist. Any loan secured on residential property (and this includes second charge loans) will be subject to conduct-of-business and prudential regulation by the FSA.

What could this ’mission creep’ signify for those of us who are involved in the commercial mortgage and business loan sector? If landlords involved in the buy to let business need the protection of FSA regulation around them, how soon before business owners are deemed to need similar protection if they want to take out a commercial mortgage or business loan to buy their business premises? The FSA’s Mortgage Market Review (MMR) makes no reference to the commercial market, but this is certainly an appropriate time to consider the pros and cons of commercial mortgage and business loan regulation.

Regarding the ’cons, on the matter of the distinction between consumers and businesses, home buyers taking out a mortgage on their home are deemed to be unsophisticated and therefore in need of protection. In its introduction, the MMR goes so far to suggest that consumers cannot be trusted to make their own decisions correctly – and need protecting from themselves. On the other hand, by definition a business operator requires acumen to set up and trade a business entity. This is a strong differentiation and demands a level of sophistication above that of a consumer – who needs a proportionately greater degree of protection.

Moving on from the borrower to the products, commercial finance is complicated by the variety of products on offer. Business funding is not limited to mortgage finance and business loans. Unsecured facilities, overdrafts, factoring arrangements, asset finance, equity finance, mezzanine finance, leasing, corporate bonds etc, are all additional ways in which business finance can be obtained. If only commercial mortgages and are regulated you could see a scenario where other business finance options are promoted/favoured in order to avoid the administrative burden regulation would bring.

Conceptually it would also be difficult to stop at commercial mortgages – as the other forms of business finance all involve risk for the borrower and why should a client raising £500,000 secured against vital machinery be less protected than his neighbour raising the same on this shop? So if a move into the commercial finance and business loan arena would require all forms to be regulated the FSA would be extremely challenged to standardise an approach across so many different product types. On the face of it the task looks overwhelming.

Focusing on commercial mortgage and business loan finance exclusively, the type of transaction in this sector is also significantly more varied and involved than a residential transaction. Commercial mortgages and business loans can typically include covenants around business performance and asset performance. They can be complicated with structured repayment terms, independent hedge/swap arrangements, and the borrowing entity and its income is a far cry from two individuals who can provide pay slips. Interpreting the borrower, its asset and liabilities and its revenue/income model can be highly subjective and in this context it is so difficult to see how prescriptive regulation can be applied.

Having reflected on the negatives, it is important to state that regulation could bring some real benefits to the sector. Just as the treasury and FSA cite the existence of fraud as one strong reason to regulate buy to let, bad practice also exists within the commercial and business loan sector. The recent advance fee fraud debacle is one such set of events that could hasten regulation. In addition, lack of transparency in the terms and conditions of certain facilities could currently disadvantage businesses who have not read the small print.

Some bad practices which FSA regulation has driven out of the residential mortgage market still exist in the commercial and business loan sector. For example, linked product sales where an insurance product is presented as a condition of finance or where pressure is applied to switch banking in order to receive a mortgage or business loan. This pressure and linking denies the borrower their right to select products/services independently on their merit. More generally, regulation of other markets may drive the unscrupulous operators – lenders and brokers into a non regulated market. Finally, the principles of mortgage regulation would assist the market to develop, and certainly the industry could learn a lot with regard to transparency and presentation of products and literature.

Regulation of the commercial mortgage and business loan market may not be on the immediate horizon for the Treasury – and having reviewed the challenges it would present may not be desirable. However if the market does not operate in line with the principles of TCF it is clear that the industry could find itself very much on the FSA’s radar, and with only itself to blame.

Analysis by Stephen Johnson, sales and marketing director, Commercial First

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Bridging Loan Basics

Bridging loan finance meets the needs of many individuals and businesses today. They are rapidly loaned to qualified applicants and then usually repaid within one to three months, though many are offered for terms up to a year.

Short-term bridging loans often come into play when a business has a cash flow problem or sees the need to make an investment but lacks the resources to do so. There may be a contract that will be honored in due time and payment made to the business but the money is needed now.

If the business can ensure repayment, a bank or other financial lending institution may choose to issue a bridging loan for the business’ capital investment, venture capital, stock acquisition, production, or a host of other needs. The short term bridging loan is just that: a means of moving over temporary financial needs to help the business reach the other side.

A bridging loan is also popular in the housing market. Homeowners who are selling a property can utilize a short-term bridging loan to pay for a new home while the old one is still on the market.

Living expenses can be covered while a sale is pending. The bridging loan can also be used for unexpected repairs that a buyer of the old home is requiring. Once the old home is sold the bridging loan will be paid in full.

Urgent needs for money sometimes occur.

Financial setbacks can happen to people for a variety of reasons and a short-term bridging loan can help smooth out the financial needs until the individual is back on his or her feet.

This type of finance can be extremely helpful in the short-term but it comes with a price. A bridging loan can carry high interest rates and sufficient collateral such as an automobile, home, business property, or other valuable asset will have to be put on the line. If the bridging loan isn’t repaid in the specified amount of time the collateral is subject to seizure and the borrower will be in worse financial shape than before.

Bridging loans are effective but only if repayment can be made.

If you require finance in the form of a Commercial Mortgage, Business Loan, Residential Bridging Loan or Commercial Bridging Loan, Secured Loan or Personal Unsecured Loan, please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our experienced loan advisers will call you back to discuss your loan requirements.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - The benefits of bridging loan finance to your cash flow

No matter who you speak to in the business world and what sort of business they happen to run, one of the most important elements to being successful is having the resources to get things done when they have to be done. What does this mean in a more practical sense?

It means that when you see an opportunity, you and your business have not only to make a decision on that opportunity, but also have to obtain the cash flow to make it work. With cash being as tight right now as it has ever been, this has become quite an issue for many business owners. But it does not have to be that way. With many of the bridging loan options out there today, you can have liquidity when you need it..

In order to understand how it can help you, one has to fully understand what a bridging loan is. First and foremost, it is the sort of help that businesses get when they have short term cash need, but don't have the ability to draw from their own means to fulfill this need.

This is much different from a typical business loan because the risk is lower. With a normal business loan, the lender is assuming some risk, because the repayment terms are rather fluid and there is always the chance that your business will fail to meet its end of the bargain.

With a bridging loan, however, we are talking about a much shorter loan term and more specifically, we are talking about companies who have set times to benefit from cash flow. Take, for instance, a company who might only have available cash on hand at the end of every month.

That is when the majority of their accounts make payments and during the middle of the month, they don't have cash to flow around. What happens when a good opportunity presents itself, or when a problem arises that can only be fixed with an appropriate amount of funding? In this instance, bridging loan finance options are there to help. Interest will, of course, be paid, but it won't be as much as most business loans will require. Instead, the low risk nature of the bridging loan will dictate that it remains relatively affordable. In short, this is like a payday loan for businesses, with the huge exception being that this type of bridging loan brings cash flow without the exorbitant interest rates that go along with individual consumer payday loans.

A bridging loan will involve different terms and applicable rates, but across the board they are a solid option.

If you require finance in the form of a Commercial Mortgage, Business Loan, Residential Bridging Loan or Commercial Bridging Loan, Secured Loan or Personal Unsecured Loan, please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our experienced loan advisers will call you back to discuss your loan requirements.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Small Business Loans - An Overview

Small Business Loans come in various forms, and are widely available. They can provide a very flexible solution to any type of funding requirement. This article provides a high level overview of the small business loan market.

Commercial Business Loans

Commercial business loans are available to most small businesses and start-ups, subject to status.

All the main high street bank, and a multitude of other specialist business loan lenders operate in the small business loan market. As with a personal loan, your business will borrow money and repay it over a pre-agreed number of months or years, at a fixed or variable interest rate.

Interest Rates

Business loans are typically available at a fixed or variable rate but capped rate business loans are also available. With a fixed-rate business loan, you know exactly how much you need to repay for the duration of the business loan.

Variable rate business loans are typically tied to the Bank of England base rate, so may well fluctuate over time. Obviously, if the BoE lowers interest rates, you will pay less, but if it raises rates, you may end up paying significantly more to borrow money than you may have hoped for.

Some providers now offer business loans with a 'capped' interest rate. This option allows you to benefit from any falls in interest rates but the rate won’t rise above the agreed level for the capped period.

Where to look for a business loan

Most banks and building societies offer commercial business loans. You should spend time researching the business loans available rather than simply going with your current business banking provider.

To avoid unauthorised business loan lenders, make sure your potential business loan lender subscribes to the Business Banking Code.

Things to keep a look out for

Most of us are guilty of signing documents without reading the small print, but when it comes to taking out a small business loan, you should make sure that you are aware of any hidden charges, or potential penalties which may apply. These include an initial fee for taking out the business loan, redemption penalties for early settlement of any business loan, late payment charges, and other arrangement fees.

You may well secure a business loan at a seemingly competitive rate, but "add on" fees may bump the real repayment cost up significantly. Ask any potential business loan lender to disclose all such fees/penalties up front before signing anything.

If you are struggling to raise the necessary finance required to expand your business or even just to sustain it and keep your head above water, why not give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524.

Choose Loans trading as Business Loan Now and Bridging Loan Now specialise in arranging business loans in the form of commercial mortgages and commercial remortgages and bridging finance in the form of bridging loans and commercial bridging loans.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - 10 December 2009 - Bank holds base rate at 0.5%

The Monetary Policy Committee voted to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling £200bn financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.

The MPC says that it expects that the programme will take another two months to complete and the scale of the programme will be kept under review.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Boulger's blog: Margaret Beckett displays her ignorance of the housing market

In response to a question about the Lib Dems’ proposed Mansion tax, Margaret Beckett, after saying she couldn’t believe the figure but would share it with us anyway, said that the Land Registry figures showed that there were only 86 properties worth over £2m.

It had to be pointed out to her that that the Land Registry figures were quoted in thousands and therefore one had to add three noughts to the figure.

It is not only pretty stupid to quote a figure on national television that you say you don’t believe, but in particular most people’s common sense would have told them that there must be more than 86 houses in the country worth more than £2m.

It is a damming indictment of this Government’s understanding of the housing market that someone who was Minister of State for Housing and Planning until as recently as 5 June this year has so little understanding of such a basic fact relating to the housing market.

The other rather amusing point was seeing Kirstie Allsop get the better of Vince Cable in the discussion on his Mansion tax.

Mortgage Strategy article by Ray Boulger

Latest News from Business Loan Now - CML ‘agnostic’ over proposed buy to let regulation

It said it is unclear on whether the main rationale for the proposed extension relates to market risk or consumer protection.

The CML believes that if the aim is to protect amateur property investors from poor property investment decisions, then regulating the mortgage process - as opposed to the sale process - will not necessarily address this.

It also said there is little evidence of consumer detriment to buy to let mortgage borrowers arising out of their mortgage borrowing, so the case for extending regulatory scope is not clear cut.

However, the CML does back plans for the expansion of regulation to cover second-charge lending and does understands the rationale for extending FSA regulatory scope to the acquirers of mortgage portfolios when they are sold on by originators.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said the trade body will now study the Treasury consultation paper in detail, in parallel with the FSA's consultation on potential changes arising from the Mortgage Market Review (MMR).

He added: "2010 is clearly going to be a year of regulatory change for mortgage lenders - but it is important that change should have a clear rationale and a clear set of outcomes, and not be implemented simply for its own sake as a reaction to past events that conduct of business regulation would not have prevented."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - A boom for buy to let?

Buy to let investors are beginning to fight their way back into the property market as prospects for the sector improve following a sustained period of restricted financing and, until recently, weak rental yields. With banks finally increasing their buy to let lending in quarter three, a period of sustained investment in the industry is set to follow.

Many professional landlords still have liquid cash available to invest and are now likely to look to expand their portfolios over the next few months, buying property at the more affordable levels before prices climb too far. Investments in other asset classes continue to under-perform, and as a result, city bonuses will also be channelled into investment property, bolstering the buy to let sector further.

Investment in the sector will be underpinned by strong and rising tenant demand for lettings accommodation, as homeowners and first time buyers turn away from the sales market and will fuel heightened activity in the property market as a whole.

Phil Calderbank, Director at lettingsearch.co.uk, comments:

“Mortgage lenders are once again recognising the important role lettings has to play in the property market and as investors with liquid cash make a move to take advantage the affordable property, strong tenant base and improving returns, I think we can safely say that the recession is now over for buy to let.

“Many so-called reluctant landlords have discovered a new income stream and we believe some of these people will stay in buy-to-let and even expand their portfolio. This will further strengthen the buy to let sector.

“The current rate of house building cannot meet the demand from potential buyers, and while lending to homeowners remains scarce and the uncertainty over unemployment looms on the horizon, we will see people choosing lettings from every rung of the ladder.”

If you need to raise finance for a commercial mortgage or business loan, commercial bridging loan, or any other form of business finance such as a buy to let mortgage, overseas mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance, please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our friendly business loan advisers at Choose Loans will give you a call to discuss your commercial finance requirements.

Secured Loan Now, Business Loan Now, Bridging Loan Now, Debt Rescue Now and Choose Loans are all trading names of M60 Mortgages Ltd and specialise in arranging secured loans, personal unsecured loans, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, car finance loans, debt consolidation loans, residential and commercial bridging loans, commercial mortgages and business loans, and other forms of business finance such as buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

We also specialise in arranging debt management plans and IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Buy to let market grows for first time in two years: CML

At £2.1bn, lending was 10% higher than in the previous three months. Q3 2009 also saw a similar first increase in two years in the number of buy to let loans advanced, from 21,600 to 23,700.

However, the CML stated that the recovery in buy to let lending was from a low base, with current lending volumes sharply lower than their peak in 2007.

The number of outstanding buy-to-let loans grew to 1,205,000, representing 11% of all mortgages by the end of the quarter compared to 1,180,000 three months earlier. The value of outstanding buy to let mortgages increased by 2.5% to £144.2bn.

Within the buy to let market, both lending for house purchase and remortgaging grew in the last three months.

As with the mainstream mortgage market, however, house purchase lending was stronger. Remortgaging capacity was constrained by the unavailability during the quarter of any buy to let mortgages at over 80% LTV. Landlords with existing mortgages at a higher LTV are therefore effectively obliged to stay on their existing lenders' reversion rates.

Low borrowing costs also contributed to a continued improvement in cases of buy to let arrears and an improvement in the number of landlords facing enforcement action.

For the third quarter in a row, there was a decline in the number of buy to let mortgages with arrears of more than 1.5% of the balance. In the last three months, the number has fallen from 22,900 to 20,500, representing 1.7% of outstanding buy-to-let mortgages.

The number of properties taken into possession rose in Q3, from 1,400 to 1,600, equivalent to 0.14% of all buy-to-let mortgages.

Over the same period, however, there was a sharp decline - from 2,500 to 1,700 - in the number of arrears cases in which a receiver of rent was appointed.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said that although the recovery is modest, the figures show that buy to let is here to stay.

He commented: "Buy to let lenders are among those facing some of the biggest challenges in raising mortgage funding, so the improved figures are all the more welcome. Future demand for housing in all tenures supported by lenders will remain strong, despite mortgage funding constraints and low construction rates."

Coogan added that with funding for social housing under pressure, the private rented sector has a strong future.

"Mortgage lenders will have an important role to play in it, and will continue to help improve choice and standards for private tenants," he concluded.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Alan Sugar slams ‘moaning’ small businesses

Labelling them “moaners”, he said 85% of small companies which applied for business loans did not actually deserve to receive any credit.

“I can honestly say a lot of problems you hear from people who are moaning are from companies I wouldn’t lend a penny to.” Lord Sugar said at a session in Manchester, in which he was supposed to be championing the causes of viable small companies with banks. “They are bust. The moaners are bust. They are bust and they don’t need the bank — they need an insolvency practitioner.”

He went on to tell the audience of 300 that younger people have been accustomed to the irresponsible lending by banks in the past few years: “You have lived in the unrealistic Disneyworld in the way banks dished out money.” He said.

His comments did not receive a warm reception at the session and were later criticised by the Federation of Small Businesses, for which a spokesman said: “Most small companies live in the real world, not Disneyworld and they lie at the heart of our economy. They are not moaners and the fact is they are working hard in difficult times and they need finance from our banks for business loans and commercial mortgages.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Bridging loan lender Tiuta to launch mainstream mortgage product

Details of the product are yet to be revealed ahead of the product’s formal launch next week, but the product will represent a significant shift in focus for the company known primarily for its bridging loan lending activities.

The product will only be available through Savills Lending Solutions and Omega.

Guy Garrard, head of business development at Tiuta, says: “By launching this mainstream intermediary mortgage product at the Mortgage Business Expo it shows that our company focus is extending out past bridging loans into other areas.”

The move follows Tiuta’s recent launch of a three year buy to let fixed rate deal for Houses in Multiple Occupation in September, as well as a secured loans proposition back in June.

The Mortgage Business Expo is being held at the Olympia exhibition centre in London on November 11 and November 12.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - UK business confidence highest for 18 months

The topline figures show:

- More than half (56 percent) of senior executives questioned by Opinion Leader Research on behalf of KPMG claim to have already seen signs of recovery in the UK economy, with 47 percent seeing green shoots in their own sectors.

- Almost a fifth (19 percent) actively view prospects for UK business over the next 12 months as 'good' or 'very good,'compared with fewer than one in ten (9 percent) who felt such optimism in the previous quarter.

- Conversely, the number of executives who view prospects for the economy as 'bad' or 'very bad' has more than halved from 54 percent last quarter to 24 percent.

Yet despite the apparent increase in optimism, there is still a cold wind blowing through the heart of British businesses, with 21 percent expressing grave concerns about a continuing fall in demand for their products or services. Indeed, falling sales is now the most pressing issue facing senior executives, overtaking credit and funding issues as the biggest business concern.

Malcolm Edge, head of markets for KPMG in the UK, commented:

“While at first glance these statistics do look encouraging, we must not forget that opinion is still heavily divided as to whether or not the economy is out of intensive care. It's particularly interesting that in spite of certain economic indicators pointing towards modest growth in the third and fourth quarters of this year, the majority of senior executives do not expect the economy to come out of recession for at least another seven to 12 months; perhaps because there is, as yet, no end in sight to falling consumer demand.

“However, for those firms who are concerned about their sales pipeline, there is nevertheless a silver lining to be found. The continued weakness of the pound against the dollar and the euro presents a massive opportunity for British firms to look beyond these shores and tap into overseas markets, so it's extremely heartening to see that expansion into new markets was the most commonly cited tactic to address business concerns.

"At heart, British businesses are an entrepreneurial bunch, so taking advantage of such opportunities for growth will be an important catalyst in sustaining confidence levels across the economy as a whole.

“Looking at the longer term prognosis for the economy, it is perhaps surprising that only 21 percent foresee a 'double-dip scenario', where the economy slips back into recession after a brief period of growth. Rather, the vast majority of respondents believe the recovery will be long and slow, whereby we bob along the bottom of the cycle for three to five years before substantial growth is seen again.”

Suggestions of a 'double-dip' recession have been raised by a number of economists who predict both an end to recent increases in house prices, and more pain to come in the private sector when the Government starts to make its much-anticipated cut in public spending in 2010. However, there could be a further sting in the tail as companies who are eager to capitalise on any early signs of growth attempt to scale-up too quickly.

Malcolm Edge explains:

“The old adage that twice as many companies fail on their way out of recession than do going into it certainly rings true. Over the last 12 months, companies have worked tirelessly to get to grips with their working capital, with many firms destocking in response to declining demand.

“However, the concern is that when trade does start to pick-up again, businesses will simply not have the cash available to finance any new growth plans. Although the majority of banks are claiming to be open for business, the fact remains that at present, lending will only happen in specific circumstances and under very strict guidelines.

“The temptation to over-trade or scale up too quickly can be all-consuming after a lengthy period of inactivity, so there is a certain irony in the fact that this desire to 'get things back to normal' can often be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Companies therefore need to resist the urge to go in with all guns blazing, and instead, keep up all those good habits that they have relied upon to see them through the downturn.

"For instance, the use of rigorous forecasting will not only assist an organisation in managing its cash flow during the final throes of the downturn and demonstrate good practice to funders, but it will also provide a sound base on which to monitor demands on working capital.”

If you need to raise finance for a commercial mortgage or business loan, commercial bridging loan, or any other form of business finance such as a buy to let mortgage, overseas mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance, please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our friendly business loan advisers at Choose Loans will give you a call to discuss your commercial finance requirements.

Secured Loan Now, Business Loan Now, Bridging Loan Now, Debt Rescue Now and Choose Loans are all trading names of M60 Mortgages Ltd and specialise in arranging secured loans, personal unsecured loans, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, car finance loans, debt consolidation loans, residential and commercial bridging loans, commercial mortgages and business loans, and other forms of business finance such as buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

We also specialise in arranging debt management plans and IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).

Latest News from Business Loan Now - FSA fails to understand the mortgage market - 20 October 2009

The Financial Services Authority’s Mortgage Market Review was published yesterday and although you are not at risk of getting autism from this MMR there will be a significant amount of consumer detriment if the report’s proposals to ban self certification mortgages are adopted.

Out of the UK’s 10 million residential mortgages about one million, or 10%, were arranged on a self-cert basis and a large proportion of this sizable minority of borrowers are at serious risk of being denied the opportunity to ever get another mortgage, even when conditions in the mortgage market improve.

Thus they will be condemned by the FSA to stay in their current home when they want to move, unless they are prepared to sell up and rent. They will also be denied the opportunity to remortgage and thus be left to the tender mercies of their current lender.

For many who don’t want to move this will not be a problem in the short term as many will revert to a reasonable variable rate when their initial deal finishes. However, when the time comes that they want to switch to a fixed rate they will only be able to do so if their current lender is prepared to offer them a product transfer rate.

Many self cert borrowers will have their mortgage with a lender which has exited the market and will have no choice but to stay on their revert to rate. If they are not able to switch to a fixed rate when they want to, purely because of the FSA’s ban on self cert mortgages, this obviously increases the risk that their mortgage will become unaffordable if interest rates increase too steeply.

If this results is them going into arrears and, worse still, being repossessed, the FSA will be culpable.

One of the FSA’s statutory duties is to protect consumers, not increase the risk that their mortgage becomes unaffordable!

Part of this full frontal attack on self cert mortgages, which is a perfectly valid product for some borrowers, seems to be based on a major misunderstanding by the FSA of income non-verified mortgages. In the regular returns the FSA requires lenders to submit there is a requirement to specify the proportion of mortgages they sold which were income non-verified.

In asking for the information on this basis, rather than asking for the proportion of self cert mortgages and the proportion of mortgages which were fast tracked, I can only assume that the FSA did not understand the difference between the two. If it did surely it would have asked for two separate figures.

In the spirit of helpfulness I would advise the FSA that self cert is a product where the lender guarantees not to ask for proof of income, whereas fast track is a process where on a mainstream mortgage the lender exercises their right not to ask for the normal paper proofs because they determine that the mortgage is low risk on the basis it has a low LTV, a loan size below a certain level and the applicant’s credit score was good.

Lenders may not (yet) be able to get applicants’ DNA from the credit reference agencies but they can and do get an awful lot of financial and other information.

It is on this basis that ID verification can often be done electronically and sufficient information obtained for the lender to safely cut down on the paper proofs required.

If the credit score is not very useful in making this decision why do lenders, the FSA and the rating agencies all regard it as being so important?

The FSA really can’t have it both ways - either the credit score is a valid tool in assessing mortgage applications or it is not. If it is but the same paper proofs are required for an applicant with a high score as someone with a low score what purpose is it achieving?

On the Today programme Hector Sants, chief executive of the FSA, said: “in the boom times self-cert mortgages were around half of those offered.” This claim is complete nonsense and it is very worrying that the FSA is trying to set policy on the basis of such a serious misunderstanding. It is true that about 50% of mortgages were income non-verified, but only about 10% were self cert.

The arrears record on fast track mortgages is generally better than average, which is exactly what one would expect if the system is working properly, because they are the mortgages the lender has identified as low risk.

This compares with self-cert mortgages having an above average arrears record, which again is exactly what one would expect. This extra risk needs to be priced properly, which wasn’t always done in the run up to the credit crunch, but with correct risk based pricing self cert mortgages are a perfectly valid option for borrowers.

I will leave you with this thought. Over 50% of the population don’t understand percentages but I was shocked to discover that this 50% includes the senior management at the FSA.

No doubt the MMR will have been checked and double checked before being signed off for release but on page 47, section 4.47, it says that “property values increased by almost 300% in the decade before the onset of the financial crisis.”

This didn’t look right to me and so I checked it out with the Nationwide house price index. Sure enough from Q3 in 1997 to Q3 in 2007 this reported an increase of 203%. I suspect the wise heads at the FSA thought that a 3 fold rise in property prices was equivalent to a 300% increase. Oh dear!

Ray Boulger - Boulger's Blog - Mortgage Strategy

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Business collapses slow across all sectors

Neil Munroe, spokesman for Equifax, said he believes this is a definite sign of the UK economy picking up from the sharp downturn which kicked in from mid last year, but he adds a word of caution.

“Certainly the rate of failures in businesses has slowed down from the very high year on year increases we were seeing at the end of 2008 and in the early months of 2009” said Neil Munroe. “But, of course, what we must remember is that we are now comparing numbers with those at the back end of last year when failures were already on the rise.

“I think it is more significant that Quarter on Quarter the numbers of businesses failing is on the decline. This is by 13.5 per cent overall and in some areas by as much as 25 per cent. Indeed this is the first Quarter for over a year when we have seen every region of the country and every business sector report a drop in failures. And this must give businesses in general and the UK economy as a whole some confidence that the extreme difficulties we have been experiencing may be lessening.”

He said it is crucial that these early signs of recovery are not over-stated. “The worst thing that could happen now is that organisations take their eye off the ball in terms of good risk management and find themselves in trouble simply because they didn’t do all the right checks of new and existing customers to make sure they don’t suddenly find themselves with bad debts on their books,” he added.

Some areas have seen marked improvements in prospects with Wales and the North East showing drops of over 25 per cent and only the North West, Scotland and Yorkshire and Humberside have recorded declines in failures in single figures.

The wholesale sector saw the most marked recovery with a 19.4 per cent decrease in failures. However, construction, manufacturing, services, retail and transport & communications all also recorded drops in failures in double figures.

If you need to raise finance for a commercial mortgage or business loan, commercial bridging loan, or any other form of business finance such as a buy to let mortgage, overseas mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance, please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our friendly business loan advisers at Choose Loans will give you a call to discuss your commercial finance requirements.

Secured Loan Now, Business Loan Now, Bridging Loan Now, Debt Rescue Now and Choose Loans are all trading names of M60 Mortgages Ltd and specialise in arranging secured loans, personal unsecured loans, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, car finance loans, debt consolidation loans, residential and commercial bridging loans, commercial mortgages and business loans, and other forms of business finance such as buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

We also specialise in arranging debt management plans and IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).

Latest News from Business Loan Now - 08-Oct-2009 - Bank holds base rate at 0.5% and continues with QE

The MPC say it expects the announced programme to take another month to complete and that the scale of the programme will be kept under review.

As at October 1 the Bank has spent over £158bn on its asset purchase programme.

Yesterday Roger Bootle, the managing director of Capital Economics, predicted that interest rates would stay at their current level for the next five years.

Ben Thompson, director of mortgages, at Legal & General says: "There's been a notable shift in popularity towards tracker rates as expectations of a long period of low interest rates become entrenched amongst borrowers."

Figures from L&G Mortgage Club show that almost one in five mortgages applied for through the club were tracker rates, up from 12% in the previous quarter.

Thompson says he expects this figure to have risen by the end of the year.

He adds: "We expect the MPC to hold interest rates steady for some time but rises are inevitable, so borrowers must be prepared."

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, says: "“Today’s no change decision may be a bit of a non-event but there is at last some action back in the mortgage market.

"September saw the usual seasonal upturn and over the last few days we have at last started to see some real competition from lenders, albeit primarily for lower LTV business.

"Although the cost of fixed rate mortgages has fallen a little over the last month most still look expensive in relation to tracker/discount rates, some of which have also fallen during the month.

"Thus variable rates continue to look more attractive for those borrowers who don’t need or want the security of a fixed rate."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - More banks willing to lend money in the form of commercial mortgages and business loans to commercial property investors

According to a report by Savills, the stabilisation of the commercial property market is due to the volatility seen in the financial markets during the last two years easing.

The cost of bank funding for commercial mortgages and business loans has also dropped due to a narrowing of the gap between the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) and the base rate to 20 points.

William Newsom, Savills UK head of valuation, said: "In March when we conducted our last survey, we weren't aware of any banks prepared to lend above £100 million on their own, but today perhaps half a dozen are prepared to do so."

He added: "For the first time in years I am not aware of any significant new commercial mortgage / business loan lenders looking at coming into the market despite these favourable conditions."

The survey identified 23 banks specialising in commercial mortgages and business loans in the £20 million and over lending category.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Bank holds base rate at 0.5 per cent

The Bank of England monetary policy committee (MPC) has held the base rate at 0.5% for the sixth month running.

The decision was widely expected by the industry with experts predicting the rate will remain at the all-time low until next summer.

The bank also said it will continue with its £175bn quantitative easing scheme but will not extend it this month. In August the Monetary Policy Committee injected £50bn into the economy to create up to £175bn on the UK's balance sheet.

Ray Boulger of leading UK mortgage broker John Charcol said: “It seems probable that bank rate will remain at 0.5% until well into next year and that any policy changes announced by the MPC will focus on its QE programme or involve some other radical new policy.

“Seasonal factors resulted in August being, as usual, a relatively quiet month for mortgages - even by this year’s standards - and it was the first month for a while that some lenders failed to hit their lending targets. This, coupled with lower Libor and swap rates, has resulted in some lenders making modest cuts in their mortgage rates which can only be good news for consumers.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Low interest rates possible until 2013

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said the reality of a deep recession and sluggish recovery has dawned upon the MPC, recognising that insipid growth and downward pressure on prices is the greater concern.

The Bank’s central expectation is for inflation to dip below 1.0 per cent and the CEBR said this implies that on the current scale of quantitative easing and market expectations on interest rates inflation will continue to undershoot the 2.0 per cent target through to 2013.

The CEBR said: “This implies three things. First, more quantitative easing is on the cards – our rough and ready estimate is a further GBP 50 billion. Second, the Bank is clearly not expecting to roll back the QE at all soon. Third, interest rates are likely to remain lower for longer than the markets expect, even predicting Bank Rate will stay at 0.5 per cent until the end of 2011.The more bearish medium term growth projections than those incorporated in the Budget imply a much larger fiscal deficit than the Chancellor has admitted to.

The Bank warns that stabilising the ratio of debt to GDP ‘will require some combination of lower government spending and higher taxes, as a share of GDP.’

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Debt crisis for self-employed

Comparing the first six months of 2009 to the same period (January to June) 2008, ClearDebt’s analysis of 11,853 indebted individuals in England and Wales showed a massive rise in debt enquiries, particularly the self-employed.

The average unsecured debt has risen by just 4% to £27,072 but lower incomes have meant that the ratio of annual take-home pay to total unsecured debt has risen by 8% - to 172%.

Self employed people with debt problems are in crisis, according to ClearDebt. They have seen their average income decline from £36,000 in 2008 to £32,000 in 2009 and they now have average unsecured debts of £40,078 (£12,851 more than employed people). ClearDebt’s self-employed sample has seen their debt-income ratio rocket by 25% in a year, now owing 219% of their annual take-home income.

Britain’s most prudent debtors are those with children. They have reduced their unsecured debt by 1% between the period’s surveyed: Debtors without children have increased their debt by 7%. Worryingly, Britain’s youngest debtors (18-24) now represent 17% of people seeking ClearDebt’s help. But, older people (55-64) are the biggest debtors – owing £40,798 and with a debt/income ratio of 250% - 29% higher than 2008.

Commenting on the figures ClearDebt Marketing Director, Andrew Smith, said: “The government should be particularly concerned by our self-employed debt figures. This may show that banks are unwilling to make business loans to these people – who will play a major role in economic recovery. Instead, small entrepreneurs may be keeping their businesses financed through expensive credit card borrowing and personal unsecured loans, whilst seeing their ability to repay plunge. This could be a major accident waiting to happen.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Bank extends QE plan to £175bn

The Bank had previously earmarked £125bn to spend on buying up bonds to boost the money supply.

But today’s decision boosts the programme by £50 billion to £175 billion.

The Bank says that the world economy remains in recession, and despite signs output in the UK’s main export markets is stabilising the UK recession appears deeper than first thought.

The MPC says that in order to keep inflation on track to meet the 2% target keeping the base rate as it is was the most appropriate action.

It expects the announced programme to take another three months to complete and says it will keep the scale of the programme under review.

Prior to today’s meeting the Bank governor Mervyn King and the chancellor Alistair Darling exchanged letters about the expansion of the Asset Purchase Facility, commonly known as quantitative easing.

The Treasury previously had set a limit of £150bn to spend on buying up bonds, but has now authorised the higher limit of £175bn.

Ben Thompson, director of mortgages at Legal & General, says: “The Bank has not yet put its cheque book back in the drawer, having already comfortably outspent Manchester City 100-1.

"While Mark Hughes of Man City will want instant results on the pitch, King will be looking more for a steady turnaround at a manageable pace.

"Is there a risk, however, that the asset purchase programme has gone too far and will stoke the fires of inflation too much in coming years?

"Longer term fixed rate mortgages are already pricing in big rate rises to come over the next five years. Let’s hope that the quantitative easing catapult doesn’t fling us too high.”

And Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, adds that the comment in the MPC’s statement that, “in the United Kingdom, the recession appears to have been deeper than previously thought” is also highly relevant.

He says: "As far as the mortgage market is concerned there is little evidence that the QE programme has resulted in any additional lending so far, but it is, of course, entirely possible that without QE mortgage lending would have been even more dire.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - 27% of brokers report enquiries rising for business loans and bridging loans

Out of the 594 brokers who took part in the survey, 47% stated that good service and the ease of dealing with the lender were their paramount requirements when choosing a bridging loan or business loan lender. 39% stated that having the lowest interest rate to offer their clients was of the most importance.

In terms of market activity, 47% of respondents claimed that they were dealing with fewer business loan and bridging loan enquiries now than during the same period last year, although 27% reported that enquiries have risen.

For those who had seen business levels drop, 68% said that they had only dipped slightly by less than 10%, giving a strong indication that confidence is returning to the bridging loan and bridging loan sectors.

The results were split down the middle when it came to submitting deals directly or via a specialist broker, with 46% of introducers choosing to submit business via specialist brokers and 47% going direct to the lender.

Commercial and bridging loan finance lenders fared well in the poll with 61% of brokers saying that lenders always deal with them in a positive way, however 31% said lenders responded to their cases “half heartedly” and 8% stated that they were dealt with in a negative manner.

Managing Director of TFO, Rhiannon Gray-Minton, said: “On the whole, brokers feel that lenders are keen to help with their enquiries, which is very encouraging. However, a very large number are unhappy with the way in which they perceive lenders deal with them. Perhaps this is an indication why more and more brokers are turning to specialist brokers like TFO to assist them.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now – Demand more money for your Sparkle - unique and innovative way for you to release money against assets you already own.

From initial enquiry you can have the money in your bank account within 48-72 hours.

Its quick, discreet and reliable.

If you are looking for short term finance then we have made it as easy as possible.

How it works

Step 1

Firstly you need to either contact us via telephone or, if you prefer, fill in our short and simple enquiry form.

Don’t worry – it is very secure and your details will NEVER be used by anyone other than Sparkle Money.

Step 2

We send you a pre paid Royal Mail Special delivery pack, all you then have to do is return the pack with your goods inside. These will be insured whilst in transit to our secure vault. Upon receipt, our specialist team values the item(s) and we confirm the available loan amount to you.

We offer transit cover up to £30,000 (highest amount available in the market) so that you know your goods are protected, giving you extra peace of mind.

Step 3

If you are happy with the loan amount and terms the funds are then transferred into your account the same day.

If you don’t want to go ahead we simply return the items to you.

Step 4

Your items will be put into our secure storage facility and Sparkle Money will look after them as if they were our own valuables.

Step 5

When you are ready to pay off the finance you can either give us a call or log on to your online area and follow the instructions.

Step 6

We'll return your valuables to you in the condition that they came to us.

The whole process is safe, secure and discreet.

That’s the Sparkle Money promise.

Sparkle Money FAQ’s

• What kind of valuables do you accept?

We accept most types of jewellery, including all pieces containing gold, platinum and diamonds.

We also lend on luxury and fashion brand watches, antiques including furniture and collectables, art and other luxury items, such as cars.

• How do I send the valuables to you?

We use Royal Mail Special Delivery Shipping Service and have the highest covering insurance policy in the market, of up to £30,000 in transit.

We will send you a free, fully-insured Special Delivery pack and ask you to drop it off, along with your item, at your nearest Post Office.

• Do I need to send any documents?

No documents need to be sent with the valuable.

Once we have received your item, we will contact your client for proof of identification.

• How fast is the process?

The process can take as little as 3 days from the point of contact. Once you have sent the item and we have received and valued it, identification checks are run and the money can be transferred immediately.

• Will my credit rating be affected?

Your credit rating will not be affected. As part of our legal compliance we are required to carry out identity checks, however these are not credit checks.

• Where will my goods be stored? Are they insured?

Your goods will be stored safely in the vaults at Sparkle Money’s prestigious Hatton Garden headquarters in central London. We have the highest covering insurance policy in the market, meaning that items can be insured for up to £30,000 in transit and for an unlimited amount in the vault.

• Who values the items?

We have highly qualified, specialist valuers based in Hatton Garden who are fully trained and hold qualifications from industry bodies, including the National Association of Goldsmiths.

• What’s the minimum/maximum amount you will lend?

The minimum amount we lend is £500, and there is no maximum.

• What interest rate will my client have to pay?

Our interest rates vary depending on the amount borrowed. For loans under £1,000 the interest rate is 5% a month. For all loans over £1,000 we charge a market leading rate of 4% a month.

• When does the loan have to be redeemed?

The standard duration of the loan is 6 months, however after this time period it is possible to extend the loan, subject to approval.

• What happens if I can’t repay the loan?

In the event that you can’t repay the loan, your item will be sold for the best price achieved to recover the amount borrowed, any outstanding interest and any costs incurred in selling the item.

Your credit rating will not be affected and any surplus is sent back to you.

Secure transit of your valuables: • Sparkle Money promise to use only the best services to guarantee the safety of your valuables in transit.

• We use a Special Delivery Courier Service and provide the highest comprehensive insurance policy in the market - up to £30,000. This service ensures that your items arrive at our Hatton Garden premises within 24 hours.

• However, for valuables that are worth over £10,000 please contact us to discuss our premium courier options.

• For loans of more than £20,000 a home valuation from one of our experts at Sparkle Money can be arranged. Additionally, if you are unable to send your valuables to us we will be able to organise a meeting between yourself and our valuation experts at one of our appointment offices.

• Once we receive your items, they are stored in our one of our secure vaults at our Hatton Garden offices and fully insured. When your loan is redeemed we will return your valuables to you in the same condition in which they were received.

Call us now at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 to arrange finance today.

Or click Apply Now and complete our short enquiry form and one of our advisers will call you back.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Darling urges banks to start lending business loans to small businesses

In a meeting at the Treasury today, the Chancellor will ask lenders to reduce their business loan rates in order to boost lending figures.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable says: “It is amazing that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has only just woken up to the fact that this is a problem. We have been warning about the business loan lending crisis, including in Government-owned banks, for months.

“The problem isn’t just about the cost of borrowing, but the difficulties which many companies who are solvent, with a good credit history, have in obtaining a business loan without unreasonable demands for personal security and charges.

“It’s time the Government stopped being a passive investor in the nationalised and semi-nationalised banks and ensured that they maintain business loan funding to good British companies for the wider interest of the national economy.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Broker confidence rising in buy to let

In a poll, 83% of mortgage intermediaries said their clients were looking to expand their buy to let portfolios further, with over half (55%) said further investment was motivated by the belief that we are nearing the bottom of the housing market.

Nearly a quarter or 22 per cent of brokers said buy to let investors saw property offering the best long-term returns compared with other asset classes, like equities.

Alan Cleary, managing director of portfolio risk assessment specialist, Exact, said, “Investors have faith in the buy to let sector. With so many people cut off from getting a mortgage, be they first time buyers or people with less than perfect credit records, the UK’s private rented sector will inevitably have to pick up the slack.”

He continued: “That means there’s money to be made by landlords, but there continues to be a severe shortage of buy to let mortgage products on the market, and it’s putting the brakes on potential investment in the sector.”

The report suggested potential landlords should be assessed on the value of the property in future, not the landlord.

The paper argues that buy to let arrears performance has been distorted by an overexposure to new build property concentrated in city centres where tenant demand has been unable to meet supply.

“Buy to let has been demonised because of higher than average delinquency rates,” said Cleary.

“But buy to let borrowers can be a better credit prospect than prime borrowers if the underlying property is good quality. Underwriting buy to let mortgages needs to tighten up though – lenders should consider the standard of collateral more carefully in the future to insulate against unduly high buy to let arrears.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Recession triggers surge in home-based businesses

Internet Businesses For Sale.co.uk, which specialises in setting up consumers with home-based businesses, says that sales of businesses to private individuals has increased in line with the growth of the online industry.

Paul Giles, managing director of Internet Businesses For Sale.co.uk, says: “One of the main reasons clients have given when purchasing a start-up business over the last 18 months is the economy and job insecurity”.

But he warns that prospective entrepreneurs should be wary of online scams promising fully fledged web businesses that only deliver a simple website.

Giles adds: “There is huge difference between buying an internet business with a full e-business model that covers everything from company set-up, business operation, sales and marketing, lead generation, commissions, search engine optimisation and much more - than simply buying a website and a domain name.”

If you need to raise finance for a commercial mortgage or business loan, commercial bridging loan, or any other form of business finance such as a buy to let mortgage, overseas mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance, please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our friendly business loan advisers at Choose Loans will give you a call to discuss your commercial finance requirements.

Secured Loan Now, Business Loan Now, Bridging Loan Now, Debt Rescue Now and Choose Loans are all trading names of M60 Mortgages Ltd and specialise in arranging secured loans, personal unsecured loans, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, car finance loans, debt consolidation loans, residential and commercial bridging loans, commercial mortgages and business loans, and other forms of business finance such as buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

We also specialise in arranging debt management plans and IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).

Latest News from Business Loan Now - London market prepares for late summer boost to supply

James Hyman, Partner for Residential Sales, said:

"Buy to let landlords have made up the majority of forced sellers up to now, but many homeowners will be forced to bail out over the coming months, leading to more property for sale in the London market. This boost to supply will help increase transaction numbers which have been stagnant for many months and put buyers back in control."

Further redundancies are expected over the summer as the recession shows little sign of improvement and the financial services and banking sectors continue to take the brunt of job losses in London. Those who have lost their jobs over the last twelve months are also facing the reality of having to sell as the prospects of finding new employment remain limited.

Many homeowners who bought at the 2007 peak of the market and are now remortgaging will find that higher LTV requirements make it difficult for them to switch onto another affordable deal, leaving them no option but to move onto their lender's SVR. With interest rates expected to rise over coming months, these borrowers will find it more and more difficult to afford their property, resulting in a surge of new supply onto the market.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Thursday 9th July 2009 - Bank holds base rate at 0.5%

Purchases of £112bn have been made under this facility since its use for monetary policy purposes was first announced after the Monetary Policy Committee’s meeting in March.

The committee predicts that the programme will take another month to complete. It will review the scale of the programme again at its August meeting, alongside its latest inflation projections.

The base rate hold was widely tipped by commentators, who continue to focus on the success of the Bank’s asset purchase programme to boost the money supply.

Expectations that the MPC would ask chancellor Alistair Darling to extend the quantitative easing programme beyond the agreed £125bn were resumed for the second month.

But away from the focus on quantitative easing the low base rate is presenting persistent problems with reviving lending, as returns on money held by lenders is not earning as much as it did.

Linda Will, sales and marketing director at In The Loop Mortgages, says: “There are fundamental problems associated with the low base rate environment which are not being talked about because all of sudden it isn’t sexy to talk about.”

Ben Thompson, director of mortgages at Legal & General, says: "Throughout 2010 the challenge for the MPC will shift towards combating inflation whilst not going so far as to choke off any economic recovery.

"Add into the mix the inevitable tax increases that will be required and the knock-on effect that will have on spending patterns and you start to get an idea of the enormity of the task.

"It will become a completely different challenge to the one they have been facing for the past year or so.

"Whilst many are predicting stability in the base rate for some time to come, recent experience has shown that a week is a long time in politics and even longer in the mortgage industry.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - UK economy to recover from 2010

The UK’s leading business group expects modest growth to resume during the first three months of 2010, with the pace of growth gradually picking up during next year.

The CBI predicts that UK GDP, supported by low interest rates and quantitative easing, should flatten out during the second half of 2009, with quarter-on-quarter figures of -0.1% and 0% in Q3 and Q4, and modest quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.1% and 0.3% in Q1 and Q2 of 2010

Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General said:

"The world recession has deepened, so it is not surprising that the UK economy has continued to suffer. However, the harshest period of the recession looks to be behind us, the economy is stabilising and this should continue during the second half of this year.

"The return to growth is likely to be a slow and gradual one; difficult credit conditions are still affecting business behaviour. For positive growth to return, lenders need to feel more confident so that credit can start flowing again.

"Some commentators have been carried away by recent tentative indicators as evidence of ‘green shoots’. It will take some time before we can be sure these shoots have roots we can depend on for sustainable growth and, in the meantime, the government must do everything it can to help firms get access to credit."

The CBI expects that, by the end of the recession, the economy will have shrunk by a cumulative 4.8% - not as severe as the 5.9% seen in the early 1980s - after five consecutive quarters of falling GDP.

The CBI expects there to be very slight growth from the start of 2010, with the pace picking up slowly, such that trend growth rates are restored only by the end of the year. For 2010 as a whole, this profile yields an average annual GDP growth of a modest 0.7%. This follows a fall this year in GDP of 3.9%.

CPI inflation is expected to fall below the Bank of England’s target of 2% in 2009 Q3 and remain there throughout the forecast period to the end of 2010. Quantitative easing is expected to continue for some months yet, but by the spring of next year, the Bank is expected to wish to return monetary policy gradually towards a more normal footing, with very modest increases in the official rate of interest from its current 0.5%.

Significantly, the labour market is proving to be even more flexible than hoped, with many more private sector employees accepting wage freezes and short-time working than in previous downturns. This should help limit the pace of job losses through 2009, and the CBI now expects unemployment to peak at a slightly lower level than previously thought. Unemployment is still expected to continue to rise until Q2 2010, to a peak of 3.03 million (9.6%), before edging lower during the remainder of 2010.

Consumer spending will be constrained not only by the rise in unemployment, but also a more elevated savings ratio and only modest increases in incomes. Through 2009 and 2010, the savings ratio is forecast to remain at a similar level to the two-year high of Q4 2008. Meanwhile, average earnings (including bonuses) should continue to fall on a year ago during Q2 and Q3 2009, followed by weak growth from Q4 and into 2010.

As a result, the CBI’s figures show household consumption shrinking by 2.9% in 2009, and growing only modestly in 2010 (0.5%). The weakness of construction investment over the early part of 2009 has led to a modest revision in the outlook for business investment. Business investment is expected to shrink by 12.4% this year, from the -9.3% expected in April, and by a further 1.4% in 2010.

Whereas firms have reduced their stock at a rapid pace at the start of this year, this should now begin to ease and firms should start re-building their stocks next year. The public finances are expected to be under growing pressure from the recession and net borrowing is expected to reach £172.3 billion in 2009/10 and £182.2 billion in 2010/11, representing 12.2% and 12.6% of GDP respectively.

Ian McCafferty, CBI Chief Economic Adviser, said:

"We still have some way to go before the UK economy is truly out of the woods and we see sustainable growth. For consumers, some of the worst fears of earlier in the year may now not be realised, but they will still face tough times as higher saving and lower income eat in to their ability to spend.

"However, the restraint shown by businesses and their staff in setting pay awards and accepting short-time working should help to curb the pace of job losses, lessening the pain for some, and shows the real strength of Britain's flexible labour market."

If you are struggling to raise the necessary finance required to expand your business or even just to sustain it and keep your head above water, why not give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524.

Choose Loans trading as Business Loan Now specialise in arranging business loans in the form of commercial mortgages and commercial remortgages.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - TMW launches one year Buy to Let Mortgage Product Range

The Mortgage Works is adding to its buy to let mortgage range with the launch of one-year fixed and tracker rate products.

The deals, available from today, include a one-year fixed rate buy to let mortgage product at 4.25% up to 70% LTV with a 2.5% arrangement fee and a one-year tracker buy to let mortgage product with an initial rate of 2.99%, available to 60% LTV with no early repayment charge and a 3.5% fee.

A tracker product for buy to let remortgage business has also been launched, with an initial rate of 3.99% up to 70% LTV and a 3.25% fee.

A spokeswoman says: "The new one-year buy to let mortgage products will provide options for brokers whose clients want to be able to review their buy to let borrowing in a year's time, offering flexibility that is particularly important in the current market."

TMW has also added to its two-year fixed-rate buy to let mortgage range with a product fixed at 4.99% to 60% LTV with a 3% fee.

For more information on all our Buy to Let mortgages and Buy to Let remortgages please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 or complete our simple 30 second online enquiry form.

Alternatively click and complete the Call Back request form and an adviser will contact you at your convenience.

Choose Loans specialise in arranging true self cert Buy to Let investment mortgages and remortgages for both residential and commercial landlords.

We have access to all the main lending institutions including high street banks, building societies and also specialist sub prime lenders.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Commercial property investors boosted by tax rule change

The commercial property sector could be given a much-needed boost with the relaxation of tax rules regarding Self-Invested Pension Plans (Sipps).

An update from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will allow investors who hold commercial property within their portfolios to more easily transfer their Sipps from provider to provider.

Under the new regime, people who make the transfers will not be subject to the A-Day pension rules introduced in 2006 - which carries extra charges attached to the rules.

A real estate investment trust (Reit) specialist has welcomed the change.

Philip Fry at commercial property specialists Reita said: "Given the recent budget changes to pension taxation for higher earners, such as the reduction of higher rate tax relief, there should already be increased incentive for investors to consider placing commercial property in their Sipps, with the potential benefit of tax free growth and the added flexibility Sipps can provide.

"The ability to invest in unquoted shares and intangible assets is very attractive to Sipp investors and, following this recent confirmation from HMRC, we are delighted that more opportunity now exists for further commercial property investment as a result of the rules relaxation."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Promising signs as business confidence rises again

Britain's businesses are regaining faith in their own prospects and in the UK economy, according to the latest Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer.

The survey shows that, in May, confidence levels amongst businesses across the UK improved for the third consecutive month, hitting their highest levels in almost a year.

The number of firms expecting business activity to rise rose to 44 per cent last month, compared to 35 per cent in April, while the number expecting activity to worsen, fell from 21 per cent, in April to 16 per cent last month. This shift in expectations means that the balance for May (the positives minus the negatives) shot up to 28 per cent - a 14 per cent increase on the previous month.

Businesses' views on prospects for the wider economy also rose in May. The balance of firms expecting economic conditions to improve hit 40 per cent (with 61 per cent feeling more optimistic and 21 per cent feeling more pessimistic). This represents a dramatic rise on April's balance of 11 per cent.

Firms in the industrial and services sector saw a particular boost in confidence. The balance of services firms expecting better trading conditions in the coming 12 months rose 16 per cent, to 30 per cent, while for industrials the balance increased by 29 per cent to 15 per cent - perhaps fuelled by the brighter picture emerging from European data.

Across the regions, there was universal increase in optimism about business prospects for the next twelve months. Firms in the Midlands now have the strongest confidence balance (53 per cent), followed by those in the North (24 per cent) and South (13 per cent). Surprisingly, although firms in the South are the least confident in their own prospects, they are by far the most positive about the outlook for the wider economy.

Trevor Williams, chief economist, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, said: "While it would be premature to talk of an end to the recession, we should be careful not to overlook the significance of the growing confidence we are witnessing amongst businesses.

"Confidence is always the foundation on which any recovery is built. We've now seen three consecutive months of growing optimism amongst UK businesses - and if this persists over coming months the recovery should not be too far behind."

If you need to raise finance for a commercial mortgage or business loan, commercial bridging loan, or any other form of business finance such as a buy to let mortgage, overseas mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance, please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our friendly business loan advisers at Choose Loans will give you a call to discuss your commercial finance requirements.

Secured Loan Now, Business Loan Now, Bridging Loan Now, Debt Rescue Now and Choose Loans are all trading names of M60 Mortgages Ltd and specialise in arranging secured loans, personal unsecured loans, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, car finance loans, debt consolidation loans, residential and commercial bridging loans, commercial mortgages and business loans, and other forms of business finance such as buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

We also specialise in arranging debt management plans and IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).

Latest News from Business Loan Now – Overseas Mortgages - Product Update Portugal June 2009 – Arranging your Foreign Mortgage in English.

Sun-kissed beaches like Cascais and Sagres offer enticements of a more hedonistic sort. Indeed, the dramatic, end-of-the-world cliffs, wild dune-covered beaches, protected coves and long, sandy islands of Portugal's coastline have long enchanted visitors and locals alike. Meanwhile, the country's capital, Lisbon, and its northern rival, Porto, are magical places for the wanderer, with riverside views, cobblestone streets and rattling trams framed by looming cathedrals making Portugal a dream destination for investors, those wanting a second home as a holiday retreat and retirees.

Portuguese mortgages are available for Purchase or Re Finance. For purchase we can arrange mortgages for up to 80% loan to value with minimum loans from €50,000. The loans can be repaid over a term of 30 years up to the maximum age of 80. Loans are available on a repayment or interest only basis and rates start from 2.67%. All mortgages are full status.

Re Finance is available up to 75% loan to value with minimum loans from €35,000. The loans can be repaid over a term of 30 years up to the maximum age of 80. Repayment and interest only options are available with rates starting from 2.67%. All mortgages are full status.

If you would like more details on our overseas mortgage products please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 or click on VIVA COSTA OVERSEAS MORTGAGES and complete our simple 30 second overseas mortgage ENQUIRY FORM to request a personal illustration.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Bank holds rates at 0.5%

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to hold the base rate at 0.5% for the third month in a row.

The MPC has also voted to continue with its £125bn asset purchase programme, or quantitative easing.

It expects the programme to take another two months to complete and says the scale of the purchases is to be kept under review.

With little room for manoeuvre in cutting interest rates, all eyes were on whether the Bank would want to extend its programme of quantitative easing beyond the £150bn limit agreed with the Treasury.

Commentators had forecast that the central bank may request more money to play with in an attempt to boost the money supply.

Johnathan Cornell, head of communications at First Action Finance, says: "Many analysts believe the base rate will remain at 0.5% until well into 2010.

"Whilst that's great news for those borrowers on tracker rates, those who are sitting on the fence on their lenders standard variable rate, waiting to see what happens, face a much bigger potential problem than splinters.

"They can sit tight and enjoy their low rate however if they need financial stability the time to get off the fence is rapidly approaching."

He adds: "Swap rates which lenders use to fund their fixed rates have been increasing in the past few weeks and we have seen fixed mortgage rates edging upwards.

"Most of the lenders which offered borrowers 'drop lock' facilities which allow borrowers to change from a tracker rate to a fixed rate with incurring early repayment charges have scrapped these in the past couple of months.

"If borrowers want to fix their mortgage the time to act is now, delays will be costly."

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, says: "Despite the Bank having used about £75bn of the funds it has agreed to commit under its quantitative easing programme it is hard to see any visible impact of this so far in terms of any real increase in mortgage availability.

"It may be that with the housing market performing better than virtually all the forecasts at the end of last year, albeit with activity still at a historically low level, the modest extra mortgage demand this has generated is enough to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back."

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Commercial mortgage and business loan sourcing systems no match for human expertise

He said:

“Sourcing systems perform a great job for intermediaries, particularly in relation to residential mortgages. The process has been helped in recent years as residential lending has become very commoditised with an automated approach to underwriting based on whether customer circumstances and property tick particular criteria boxes.

“But the expectation that the same facility exists to source commercial mortgages and business loans in the same way will prove to be frustrating for those expecting the same degree of certainty when looking for likely lenders. Commercial debt is not a commoditised product, treating it as such has been one of the biggest mistakes of the past 5 years. Commercial mortgage and business loan lending decisions should always be a matter of judgment for skilled underwriters and not a box ticking exercise.

“For brokers for whom commercial mortgages and business loans are not a major part of their business, we would recommend they use an NACFB accredited commercial mortgage broker, to provide the expertise needed. With their knowledge of what lenders are looking for, they will save intermediaries time and effort in matching them up to the lenders most likely to respond positively in a way that a sourcing system cannot match. By all means use a sourcing system to give an indication, but recognise that much time and effort will be saved by going to a human expert.”

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Post-recessionary mindset emerging in leasing, say GE Capital

A post-recessionary mindset is starting to emerge among leasing customers with the result that capital expenditure is once again on the agenda, says GE Capital.

The leasing specialist says that feedback from existing and potential customers suggests that many feel that the bottom of the recession has now been reached and that, while there is no indication of a rapid return to general economic growth, there are tentative signs of increased confidence.

Marie Dunkley, Commercial Leader at GE Capital, explained:

“For many businesses, the onset of the recession felt like falling through a trapdoor and, as a result, capital expenditure of any kind has been unthinkable. Instead, they have simply been concentrating on survival.

“However, the feedback we are receiving suggests that a number have now seen demand stabilise or the rate of decline slow dramatically over the past few months. They are starting to believe, if nothing else, that this is the bottom of the recession. Importantly, many remain profitable – if not to the degree of recent years then to a level that appears to be sustainable and relatively healthy.”

Dunkley added that this stability was leading to the emergence of a new mood – one where companies were beginning to believe they could survive and maybe even thrive within the new economic reality. Importantly, they were beginning to identify opportunities brought about by the recession.

She said:

“You could call this a post-recessionary mindset. This doesn’t mean that these businesses believe that the end of the recession is in sight but they are starting to shake off the degree of fear that has gripped them over recent times. They are starting to make new, more positive plans.”

A result of these plans was an increased level of interest in capital expenditure, with leasing very much being pushed to the fore where new equipment acquisition was needed.

Dunkley continued:

“For this post recessionary mindset, we believe that leasing could be the acquisition method of choice. While decision makers are regaining some of their appetite for new ventures, they still want to do so at a low level of risk. Leasing – thanks to the advantages it inherently offers such as predictable costs and avoidance of residual risk – could be set to make genuine gains in this environment.”

Business Loan Now specialise in arranging most types of business finance including commercial mortgages and business loans, commercial bridging loans, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, and acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Stability returns to Buy to Let mortgage market

The number of Buy to Let products available has remained stable since April and is remaining at just over the one hundred mark according to Mortgages for Business’ Buy to Let Product Index for June.

The specialist Buy to Let broker reports that this is a positive sign in what has been an extremely difficult 18 months.

Mike Freeman, Technical Support Manager of Mortgages for Business said:

“Using the product availability data gathered from our Buy to Let sourcing tool, Mortgage Flow, we can see how the number of products have changed over the last few months. The continual level of product availability is certainly comforting in what has been a very tough year and a half.

“We are now seeing a more positive outlook from clients and business has started to pick up. The housing market has seen prices bottoming out and there is certainly the feeling that now is the time to purchase that bargain property that investors have had their eye on over the last 6 months.

“Fixed rate money will not stay low much longer and indeed, has already started to rise, so fixing into a 5 to 10 year rate would avoid any risks with interest rate increases over the next few years and we’ve certainly seen a greater interest in longer term fixed rates over the past month.”

If you require a Buy to Let Mortgage or Buy to Let Remortgage please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our experienced Buy to Let Mortgage Advisers will call you back.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - CBI says credit crunch grip weakening

The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) believes that conditions are expected to stabilise for businesses in the months ahead.

Access to business finance, be it in the form of a business loan, commercial bridging loan, buy to let mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, and acquisition and development finance remains a serious problem for businesses, but the rate of deterioration in credit conditions slowed further over the past three months, the CBI said.

Responding to the CBI's latest Access to Finance Survey, businesses were less negative than they were in March about the supply of new and existing credit. Asked about the availability of new credit lines over the past three months, a net 20% reported that the situation had deteriorated. While this indicates that supply remains tight, conditions have eased since March (-36%) and January (-62%). For existing credit lines, the balance was -10%, compared with -16% in March.

The easing of conditions for new credit supply is expected to continue. Only a net 7% of firms see a further fall in new credit supply over the next three months. Meanwhile, no further worsening is anticipated for existing credit supply. Around 10% of firms expect the situation to improve, and another 10% expect it to deteriorate, giving a balance of zero per cent, which indicates that conditions for existing credit will be stabilising.

Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser, said: "Credit availability is still a concern, but the severity of the situation is easing compared with a few months ago. Big companies who were encountering serious problems getting credit at the start of the year are still finding it difficult, but they expect that the supply of existing credit will get slightly easier over the next few months."

However, while the tightening of credit supply in bank loans and overdrafts has moderated over the past three months, trade credit insurance remains a significant problem. A balance of 54% of firms reported its availability had worsened in the three months to May, although this was not as severe as in the March survey (-72%).

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Overseas Mortgages - Turkey Product Update

Sterling Product Purchase Only

Maximum loan to value 75% over a term of 15 years. Minimum loan amount €25’000 with no redemption penalty after the first 3 years. Full Status only with rates from 6.15%

Euro Product Purchase only (or for properties completed within the last 12 months)

Maximum loan to value 70% over a term of 20 years. Minimum loan amount €50’000 with no redemption penalty when not in a fixed rate period. Full Status only with rates from 4.80%

Euro Product Equity release or Re mortgage.

Maximum loan to value 60% over a term of 20 years. Minimum loan amount €50’000 with no redemption penalties when not in a fixed rate period. Full Status only with rates from 5.10%.

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR BULGARIA

The main lender for Bulgaria has now used up it fund allocation for 2009 therefore there is no lending available for any of the resorts until new funds are released. Mortgages are available in Sofia only.

With the weakness of the pound against the euro, a mortgage on an overseas property is looking a very attractive option for people who are buying overseas, it is also a good time to exchange euros back to sterling.

If you have any enquiries or would like to speak to one of our overseas mortgage advisers please give us a call on 0845 862 0524.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Business Loans, Asset Finance and Cash Flow Finance

Financing equipment directly from capital can have a negative effect on cash-flow as well as draining liquidity.

Business Loan Now is able to offer and arrange leasing facilities to finance the purchase of any equipment associated with the business, from plant to paper clips. Leasing allows your client all the benefits of ownership but without the worry of the asset depreciating in value. Payments can also be set against taxable profits in the UK, which makes this a most tax efficient way to equip business.

For existing businesses trading with other organisations on credit terms, Business Loan Now can also assist. We can provide business cash flow finance to speed up your clients' cash-flow, and save time spent currently chasing payment - protecting your customer from the risk of bad debt.

Invoice Factoring, Cash Flow Finance and Invoice Discounting release up to 85% against unpaid sales invoices (less a small service fee) within 24 hours of your client raising them. The remaining balance is paid when your clients' customers settle their outstanding invoices. Asset finance based lending including invoice discounting is available to businesses with an annual credit turnover of just £250K.

The fundamental difference between Invoice Factoring and Invoice Discounting is that the factor's involvement is disclosed to your clients' customers and the factor takes responsibility for collecting the value of outstanding invoices on their behalf.

Features and Benefits

Save working capital

When businesses buy equipment outright, the capital invested becomes tied up in a depreciating asset, preventing them from investing in other projects. Leasing, on the other hand, allows your client to save resources for other purposes, such as new business opportunities, unexpected needs, business development or marketing.

Easier budgeting

Payments are fixed for the full agreement period and are not affected by inflation or changes in interest rates. Therefore businesses can accurately plan for their finance payments in advance, helping to simplify the budgeting process.

Maintain existing credit lines

With a solution sourced from Business Loan Now, existing credit lines arranged with a bank or other funders remain intact. As a result, businesses have the additional flexibility to still use their bank's facilities if necessary in the future.

No deposit

A deposit need not be a pre-requisite of the business finance arrangement. Businesses simply make regular payments throughout the life of the agreement.

Tax efficient

With many forms of business finance agreements, payments may be offset against taxable profits, reducing the net cost overall.

Upgrade opportunities

Business finance allows businesses to keep up-to-date with advancing technology and to respond to changing needs. Businesses can add to or upgrade their original installation to accommodate unforeseen changes in their requirements.

Convenience

Payments can be made by direct debit. Multiple payments can be collected on one single monthly or quarterly direct debit, saving on bank charges and administration.

Flexibility

Individual business finance agreements, including contract lengths, are tailored to meet the particular needs of each business, ensuring that the payments match the company’s existing and planned budget.

Latest News from Business Loan - Buy to Let Mortgages and Buy to Let Remortgages

Looking for a Buy to Let Mortgage or Buy to Let Remortgage?

Business Loan Now specialise in arranging TRUE SELF CERT BUY TO LET INVESTMENT MORTGAGES for both residential and commercial landlords.

We have access to all the main lending institutions including high street banks, building societies and also specialist sub prime lenders.

Please complete our online enquiry form, or give us a call on 0845 862 0524.

Alternatively click Apply Now and complete the Call Me Back request form and an experienced Buy to Let Mortgage Adviser will contact you at your convenience.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Acquisition and Development Finance

Business Loan Now provides facilities for clients wishing to buy businesses or require funding to develop existing businesses and/or property.

Commercial mortgages / business loans can be one of the most effective methods of buying an existing business.

With flexible payment schedules, lenders can lend up to 75% of the purchase price over a 20 year term.

Business Loan Now can arrange both short-term development finance (with a bridging loan) and long-term finance (with a business loan) for the acquisition of land and the building of properties and refurbishment of existing properties.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Commercial Bridging Finance

Bridging Loan Now can roll up or deduct payments, and are able to meet most bridging loan requirements covering all areas of the UK, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

When funds are required within days rather than weeks, Bridging Loan Now can arrange competitive quotes sourced from the widest range of products to suit all lending requirements.

What We Do

Bridging finance for any purpose:

1st charge or 2nd charge equity release

1 - 36 month terms available

Fast processing - from 2 - 10 days depending on information supplied

Up to 100% LTV available (with additional security)

Clients Best Suited

Client purchasing property at auction

Property refurbishment or conversion projects

Clients with chain-breaking mortgages

Clients who have been, or are about to be repossessed, to avoid bankruptcy

Clients requiring short-term finance for business purposes

Turnaround times

Bridging finance cases can be completed in a matter of days, depending on the loan size, the security being used and the initial information supplied to Bridging Loan Now.

A bricks and mortar valuation report that must have been carried out within the last 3 months by a panel surveyor is required on all cases.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Current sources of business finance for commercial mortgages / business loans

Considering mainstream commercial mortgages / business loans provided by banks first,, traditional banking players in this market are all still active, but there is a direct parallel with the residential mortgage sector – i.e. mainstream banks are more cautious, are setting their pricing higher, and are asking for stronger credit quality.

The requirement for strong credit quality business customers means that the strength of a business’s accounts is vital. The more information that can be provided the better, in terms of how a business is dealing with the economic recession. In addition, any deterioration in trading performance needs to be mitigated with forecasts, details about new business contracts or cost saving initiatives. Brokers who are presenting a case for a commercial mortgage / business loan need to pre-empt any weakness in an application and tackle it head on rather than hope the lender will not pick it up. Secondary sources of income are a big plus and really aid the strength of an application.

Turning to the other two sources of commercial mortgages / business loans. The medium sized specialist lenders who challenged many institutions by relying on wholesale finance are simply not in the game at the moment. That leaves the privately funded niche lenders. Here, the market has returned to the 1980s where you had a number of privately funded lenders complementing the institutional and high street lending activity. Many of these privately funded lenders have limited funds, a hands-on approach, and tend to have a regional focus where the borrowers can be effectively managed. There are niche lenders operating in the bridging loan market, the asset finance market and in the property market – but there is very little scope for brokers to write volume business in the private niche lending sector. One thing is for sure, niche lenders will not have meaningful direct to customer marketing operations and the broker will certainly be offering a product to their customers that they would not otherwise have access to.

Looking at terms and conditions of commercial mortgages / business loans still being offered, the cost of credit, margins over base rate have pretty much doubled since 2006/7 – and in truth 2.5% to 3% above bank base rate is where SME customers will find themselves. However, the 0.5% base rate translates into 3% to 3.5% all-in rate funding, which is - as we all know - the lowest for generations. LTVs up to 80% of operational entity are still available but the LTV is very much secondary to the quality of financial information and proven serviceability in this market.

In the commercial property market, owner occupied mortgage loans in the SME sector appear to be more attractive to lenders than investment loans. However, with yields now 7% to 8% gross on strong tenant covenant commercial property, the economics really work. We are seeing cash rich professionals and lowly geared, recently launched opportunistic funds really starting to buy. We are not at the bottom of the commercial property cycle yet, but a lot of very successful commercial property teams who have been in the market for decades are now buying. Hopefully this may help to encourage business through commercial mortgage brokers, once the flow of lending becomes more than a trickle.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Buy to Let mortgage product numbers showing signs of recovery

The firm said landlords looking to take advantage of low house prices now have better financing options to expand their portfolios because the number of Buy to Let mortgage products had been gradually rising.

By using product availability information from its Buy to Let mortgage sourcing tool, Mortgage Flow, Mortgages for Business noted that whilst the number of Buy to Let mortgages available was increasing, it was still just 20% of the levels seen in 2007.

Mike Freeman, technical support manager at the firm, said that while buy to let mortgage availability was at about a fifth of the level of 2007, it was good news that Buy to Let product availability had improved since the low of December 2008.

Freeman commented: “With the market starting to bottom out and landlords beginning to buy up properties at low prices, lenders are beginning to feel more secure. In addition we have actively been talking to lenders who we have long term relationships with and there is a feeling that we may see a positive shift in lending criteria with a particular focus on loan to value ratios. This is very positive and shows growing confidence in the buy to let mortgage market.”

If you require finance for a Buy to Let mortgage please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524. Choose Loans specialise in arranging Buy to Let mortgages.

If you need to raise finance immediately, for instance to buy that bargain property at auction, we can also arrange a residential bridging loan or commercial bridging loan as short term finance, whilst we arrange your buy to let mortgage, so you do not need to worry about 28 day completion deadlines.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - New data shows commercial property decline finally slowing

Perhaps economists are becoming more determined to see them, but those infamous green shoots seem to be sprouting up all over the place as the second quarter of the year gets underway and the economic downturn eases off a little.

The latest news from the Investment Property Databank (IPD) has shown that commercial property capital values have not fallen as far during the first quarter of 2009 as previously expected.

The IPD UK Quarterly Property Index measures property investment market movements in values and returns on a quarterly basis, producing information on the performance of a databank of over £80 billion.

The index recorded that since the record drop of 14.3% in commercial property capital values of the final quarter of 2008; the decline has slowed significantly, falling by a much smaller 8.7%.

Low interest rates have been attributed to the easing rate of decline; with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) saying the net balances for enquiries, demands and confidence are the most positive for a year.

In a report, Rics concluded: “The improvement in the market offers some hope that aggressive cuts in monetary policy have provided some limited support for the commercial markets.”

Business Loan Now specialise in arranging business loans and other forms of business finance including commercial bridging loans, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, acquisition and development finance, buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages.

We also specialise in arranging Commercial and Liability insurance for most types of business including:

Hotels & Guesthouses

Leisure

Manufacturers & Processors

Offices & Surgeries

Pubs & Wine-Bars

Restaurants & Cafes

Shops

Take-Aways

Wholesalers

Our liability insurance covers General Tradesmen, Cleaning Contractors and General Contractors.

For more information please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our experienced advisers at Choose Loans will call you back to discuss your business finance or business insurance requirements.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Bank of England base rate held at 0.5%

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, says that a hold at 0.5% is likely to be the case for the next couple of months, with the MPC's focus shifting from the base rate to quantitative easing.

But he adds: "While it is difficult to be confident how long bank rate will stay at 0.5%, it is likely than when the MPC starts increasing base rate it will move up quite quickly.

"This could be very uncomfortable for anyone still locked into a variable rate mortgage at that time, especially borrowers whose mortgage payment comfort zone has migrated to their current low payments."

While Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, says:

“The Bank’s interest rate decision is no surprise. While hard pressed savers should see interest rates maintained, this decision does nothing to help lenders to attract new deposits that could be used to fund mortgage lending.

“With the general economic outlook remaining bleak, we hope that the expansion of the quantitative easing programme will help to lessen the severity of the downturn.”

If you require finance in the form of a Commercial Mortgage, Business Loan, Residential Bridging Loan or Commercial Bridging Loan, Secured Loan or Personal Unsecured Loan, please give us a call at Choose Loans on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our experienced loan advisers will call you back to discuss your loan requirements.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Mandelson unveils plans to kick-start business loan finance

The Government has announced measures to guarantee up to 50% of up to £20 billion worth of business loans. Companies with an annual turnover of up to £500 million will be eligible for the scheme. Meanwhile, smaller, viable, credit worthy firms suffering as a result of the downturn will be able to borrow up to £1 million on business loans, with the Government underwriting 75% of the business loan. The money can be used for working capital - to pay wages for example - or for new investment, said Lord Mandelson.

Finally, a £75 million Capital for Enterprise Fund targeted at businesses with high levels of debt is being set up with £50 million being provided by the Government and £25 million by the major banks. While the measures have been welcomed by some, they have been criticised by Alan Duncan, shadow secretary of state for business, who said it was ‘too little, too late‘.

According to the British Chambers of Commerce, businesses are in desperate need of business finance so any measures to kick-start lending are welcome.

The plans have also been welcomed by EEF, the manufacturing group, who said the proposals will go some way to boosting credit markets.

In related news, chairman of Standard Chartered Mervyn Davies, has been appointed by the Government as Trade and Investment Minister to help turnaround the stricken British banking sector. Mr Davies, who was awarded a CBE in 2002 for services to the financial sector, will be responsible to Lord Mandelson.

Latest News from Business Loan Now - Go-between needed to reconnect finance for business loans between banks and businesses

Small businesses need a go-between for finance for business loans to help rebuild ailing relationships with the banks and revive the flagging economy, latest figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) show.

More than 70% of FSB members responding to a poll in the run-up to the Budget on April 22 said they thought a corporate mediator would help to build better relations for business loan finance between banks and small businesses. The corporate mediator would act as an independent go-between, brokering agreement on decisions which are currently at a stalemate, including bank funding business loan finance for small firms.

FSB research shows that around a third of small businesses consider their bank to be less helpful than before the downturn. A further 60% say there has been no change in the banks' attitudes to providing finance for businesses in the form of a business loan or overdraft, despite the difficult economic period.

While more than half of small firms prefer to communicate in person with their bank, rather than by letter, online or over the phone, many have seen their relationship with their local branch manager deteriorate over the past few years.

The FSB is calling for the Government to put in place a corporate mediator to resolve these problems, represent both sides in disputes and discussions and de-politicise the issue of bank lending. The FSB believes this would re-establish trust between banks and businesses during the recession and guide the economy into recovery. The mediator, which the FSB suggests could operate through the Regional Development Agencies, could perform the following tasks:

Act as a point of contact for entrepreneurs and small firms having trouble getting a business loan or an overdraft

Facilitate discussion between business and banks

Mediate in cases where viable businesses cannot get access to business loans

Report regularly to the Government, identifying trends and offering solutions

John Wright, Federation of Small Businesses National Chairman said: "It is high time the Government took some serious action and built bridges between the banks and the small businesses which keep our economy moving. The future health of our economy depends on mending the relationship between small business and the banks; small firms and entrepreneurs need confidence to take the risks to innovate, grow and create jobs and take us out of the recession. In order to do this, they need to regain their faith in the banking system. Small businesses have identified a corporate mediator, one which works similarly to those in France and Belgium, as key to this revival."

If you need to raise finance for a commercial mortgage or business loan, commercial bridging loan, or any other form of business finance such as a buy to let mortgage, overseas mortgage, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance, please give us a call at Business Loan Now on 0845 862 0524 or click Apply Now and complete our simple 30 second enquiry form and one of our friendly business loan advisers at Choose Loans will give you a call to discuss your commercial finance requirements.

Secured Loan Now, Business Loan Now, Bridging Loan Now, Debt Rescue Now and Choose Loans are all trading names of M60 Mortgages Ltd and specialise in arranging secured loans, personal unsecured loans, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, car finance loans, debt consolidation loans, residential and commercial bridging loans, commercial mortgages and business loans, and other forms of business finance such as buy to let mortgages and overseas mortgages, asset and cashflow finance, equipment leasing and invoice factoring, or acquisition and development finance using whole of market high street banks and specialist finance lenders.

We also specialise in arranging debt management plans and IVAs (individual voluntary arrangements).