We’re here to keep local businesses afloat

Gillian Palmer of The Finance Hub and Lending Made Simple reveals the ways in which she and her expert affiliates are helping to keep businesses in the black…

Gillian Palmer founded her businesses Lending Made Simple and The Finance Hub with the main aims of making money easier to understand and more accessible.

Since she took over her premises in The Pantiles in 2022 Gillian has seen the number of experts working under The Finance Hub’s umbrella grow from eight to 25. These affiliates can advise clients on everything from mortgages to tax issues and property – and so much more.

“I wanted a place where people could come for the most straightforward yet expert monetary advice,” she says.

Another element of her business is running regular specialist talks, which are free to attend, and help people gain all sorts of insight and information.

Recently the talks have included ones on cyber crime as well as seminars on wills and mortgages.

Last month Gillian and her team hosted a Cash Flow Clinic for RTW Together Business Improvement District (BID) in order to support local businesses and the Tunbridge Wells community with information about business lending.

“At Lending Made Simple we pride ourselves in making it as simple as possible to find the right funding for your business,” explains entrepreneur Gillian. 

“Our recent Cash Flow Clinic gave local businesses the opportunity to talk about their cash flow issues, their plans for the future of their business, and to advise them on how to keep their cash flowing by explaining the difference between short and long-term lending.

“The saying ‘Cash is King’ is very true and as businesses grow they start to feel the pain and burden of cash flow constraints,” continues Gillian. 

“It very easy at this stage to go online and get offers of credit cards and expensive loans, but is this right for your business and is it fit for purpose?”

Over the years Gillian has grown many businesses and every one of them she says has had cash flow issues at some stage.

“Normally this is when people panic and take whatever is on offer to help them over this hurdle. As every business owner will tell you they’ll have had lots of sleepless nights when the money is not coming in quick enough but you still have to pay the wages and suppliers.”

Gillian offers up the example of one of her clients who’d won a unique contract. “He had to order bespoke materials which needed to be paid for, and he had to hire a lot of machinery and take on a team of 30 extra people to complete the job. He had to pay for all of this upfront before he could invoice the customer on completion and then he was not going to be paid for 30 days.”

Gillian therefore looked at a lot of different options for her client. He eventually decided on a secured revolving credit facility which only cost him 1.5% interest per month for the four months he used the fund. 

“This was a much cheaper option than taking out a long-term loan, paying all the costs associated and then paying it back early,” explains Gillian.

“An alternative example is a landscaping business who was buying another company to offer a wider variety of services to clients. He needed £250K up front and so I suggested a £50K cash flow facility as a backup during the transition. 

“As the client knew there would be cash in the business once he took it over, I made sure he had a flexible solution that did not penalise him for paying the loans back earlier. Within a month of the acquisition, all loans were paid back and the client was over the moon. We are now working on another acquisition for him.”

The finance affiliates at The Finance Hub – which Gillian describes as a one-stop shop for expert advice – were also able to help the landscaping business with the necessary legal matters on transactions, plus the intricacies of insurance and pensions when integrating both businesses.

“We are here for everyone so come in and let’s talk business and personal finance.”

You can contact Gillian on 01892 280000 or visit her at The Finance Hub on Linden Park Road.

www.thefinancehub.money