news release
Experian launches UK’s first finance finding website for SMEs
Free service connects smaller businesses to most appropriate sources of finance Nottingham, 27 September 2011 — Experian®, the global information services company, has today announced the launch of SME Finance Finder, a free online service for SMEs designed to match their particular finance needs to the most appropriate brokers and lenders.
Simon Streat, Managing Director of Experian’s UK SME business, said: “Many small and medium sized businesses don’t always understand the full range of financing options that are available to them, and certainly don’t want to waste precious time shopping around or applying for finance that isn’t right for their needs. The new SME Finance Finder service from Experian puts businesses in touch with those best suited to their requirements and maximises their chances of securing appropriate funding.”
SME Finance Finder – the first service of its kind in the UK – allows SMEs to tap into a wide pool of potential finance options, including mortgages, invoice finance and asset finance. It saves valuable time and introduces SMEs to a range of finance options and providers that they may not have been aware of.
It enhances the chances of the application being submitted to the right provider for the right type of funding and therefore being accepted first time. It ensures the business is matched with the provider and form of finance most suited to the applicant, and that the application is completed and presented appropriately to the lender.
Furthermore, by helping businesses understand their own credit profile and where appropriate, apply for the type of finance more suited to their specific requirements and situation; not only will SME Finance Finder save time and effort, but help businesses avoid making multiple unnecessary applications. This is important because every time an application is made, a search footprint is recorded. Large numbers of applications might trigger a warning to lenders as it is one of the signs that an applicant may be committing fraud or be in financial difficulty. As a result, large numbers of searches, when present in conjunction with other risk factors, can trigger fraud investigations and/or affect credit scoring and a business’s ability to obtain credit.
Nicholas Feurtado, Managing Director of Blow Creative, used SME Finance Finder to secure invoice financing for his creative communications agency. He comments: “While our business had been experiencing strong growth, many of our clients had changed their payment terms from 60 days up to 90, or even 120 days. This had the potential to have a massive impact on our growth plans and bank balance, particularly given that we still needed to pay our own suppliers within 30 days.
“We needed a way of supporting ourselves and continuing our rapid growth. Through Experian’s SME Finance Finder we were put in contact with a reputable broker who found us three sources of finance for an invoice discounting service to free up our debtors list. The service was easy to use and saved us going through multiple brokers and undertaking multiple credit checks, which could have affected our rating. We’re really pleased with the end result. I’m surprised a service like this hasn’t come along sooner, it makes so much sense in this climate.”
How does it work?
· The business supplies details of the finance it needs, its purpose and basic contact information
· Experian then uses a range of publicly available information and its own proprietary data about the business, including its credit history, to create a full company profile
· This profile is used to match the business with a suitable broker or lending partner and the most appropriate finance option. All the partners are vetted by Experian and hold relevant sector and financial expertise
· The partner then makes contact with the business within two working hours to progress their application
ENDS
SME Finance Finder can be accessed via www.experian.co.uk/financefinder
For more information about Experian, visit www.experian.co.uk/smallbusiness
Follow us on Twitter @Experian_UK for our latest news, views and insight.
Contact:
Ms Serj Heera
PR Manager
0115 992 2773/07837 652169
Blue Rubicon
020 7260 2700