Business Finance

We have specialised in arranging business finance since June 2000. We are a niche team offering a bespoke and personal service.

We work with UK businesses, typically with annual sales of £2m to £50m, that need new borrowing, or want to refinance existing borrowings.

We can arrange any type of finance for any commercial purpose and can act for any type of borrower in any business sector.

We have access to over 400 lenders, providing finance of all types.

Click here to see all the types of finance that we can arrange.
If you have a specific question, then click here to view our Business Finance FAQs.

Otherwise please feel free call us to discuss your requirements – we are easy to talk to!

Insider knowledge

What makes us different is that we all previously worked in lending roles for commercial banks, so each of us is a trained and experienced lender with valuable inside knowledge about how lenders work and how they make lending decisions.

This knowledge and experience gives us a real edge and means we are highly skilled at securing better outcomes for our clients – as is evidenced by our success rate, which since June 2000 has averaged 90%.

Therefore, we are ideally placed to arrange the facility that you are looking for. As we like to say, “there is nobody better at arranging finance than a trained lender!”

The dangers of going solo

Arranging finance can be time consuming and problematic and lenders can be difficult to deal with. Even businesses with an unblemished borrowing history can struggle to get the finance they need, on the right terms. The main reasons for this are:

Business lending is very detailed and technical, which puts borrowers at a disadvantage.
It is also extremely difficult for borrowers to exert any meaningful influence over the outcome of a lending decision. Instead, they have to rely on the lender’s personnel doing their jobs properly and on the lender’s systems working effectively. This rarely happens and leads to inconsistent decisions and unexpected outcomes. This is why borrowers who seek finance without expert help often unknowingly end up with inferior borrowing terms.

Close collaboration

Using our lending expertise, we will work closely with you and your professional advisors to arrange the finance that you need.

We adopt the principles of competitive tendering – putting lenders in competition with each other in order to source the best terms we can find.

This approach will save you time, stress, and will almost inevitably lead to a better result.

Interested? Then call us and we will be happy to explain more about how we work and the benefits that we can deliver.

Business Finance service FAQs

Does IBC deal only with banks?

No. We have access to over 400 lenders, providing finance of all types (mainstream banks, challenger banks, and other independent and specialist lenders). This dual approach enhances our success rate, which since June 2000 has averaged around 90%.

How is IBC paid?

We do not accept referral fees from lenders and instead agree a fee with our client, payable on success.
We then ask the lender to deduct from its arrangement fee the amount it would otherwise have paid to us (had we been operating in the same way as a broker). This transparent approach means the client pays a smaller fee to the lender and usually means even more savings for the client because:

Banks in particular will often reduce their lending fees to acknowledge the work we do in assisting their approval of the facility.
We make lenders aware that they are in competition with others, so they have an incentive to be as competitive as possible. This leads to improved borrowing terms, including reduced security, longer-term savings in interest rates and other cost savings.

Why doesn’t IBC believe in accepting arrangement fees from lenders?

Quite simply, to do so is a clear conflict of interests.

It is normal practice for lenders to pay to an intermediary (such as a finance broker) a referral fee for making an introduction to a borrower. However, we believe this creates an obvious conflict of interests and puts borrowers at a disadvantage, because:

There is a risk that a broker will ‘follow the fee’; that is, they will gravitate towards lenders (or finance products) that will pay them the biggest fees rather than towards those lenders that offer better terms to the borrower.
Borrowers have little control over the amount of the referral fee paid by a lender to the broker: in fact, some lenders will even allow the broker to specify how much they would like the referral fee to be!
Any referral fee paid by a lender to a broker still comes out of the borrower’s pocket because the lender will simply add it onto the arrangement fee it charges for agreeing the facility. In other words, if a lender has to pay a bigger referral fee to a broker, the lender will recoup it by charging a bigger arrangement fee to the borrower.

Therefore, rather than accept any referral fees from lenders, our approach is to agree a fee with our client. This is a much more transparent and reassuring way of working that does not disadvantage clients and instead puts their interests at the forefront.

Isn’t IBC an expensive luxury when it comes to raising finance?

Absolutely not. As well as the fee savings, borrowers also benefit in other ways:

Their chances of success are higher.
We can help to negotiate the security and other important lending terms, not just the price.
In addition to lending fees, we can look at other costs, so our clients will benefit from longer-term savings in interest charges, account transaction charges and in other fees and costs.
Our clients save a huge amount of time so can concentrate on other things while we deal with lenders on their behalf.

Does IBC only deal with difficult cases?

No. Borrowers recognise that our specialist skills can achieve the right outcome, whether it’s getting a ‘Yes’ or more specific borrowing terms. They also value our independence and ‘inside knowledge’ of banking and business lending. They also know that we save them a lot of time, worry and aggravation and often add tangible value to each case.

I have never had trouble borrowing money before, so how could IBC help me?

Borrowers seeking finance on their own can miss out on better opportunities and end up unknowingly conceding too much security, signing up to unnecessary terms and conditions, or paying too much in interest and fees. Read our e-book: How and why lending decisions go wrong and what to do about it.

For each case, we have the expertise and resources to deal with 10 or more lenders at the same time, which increases your chances of achieving a successful outcome, and helps you to make an informed choice.

You will save huge amounts of time and stress, and have a much greater chance of obtaining the finance you need on fair and competitive terms.

Do lenders feel threatened by your approach?

No. Our team’s commercial banking backgrounds mean lenders appreciate our involvement and tend to have more confidence in the cases we put forward. We also save them time and money by doing some of their work for them. Although lenders have to compete to win new customers, we treat them fairly and give them feedback when they are unsuccessful.

They also know that we are not wasting their time by using them as a way of securing concessions from an existing lender – a common problem that they find intensely annoying.

Do clients have any say on which lenders IBC approach for finance?

Yes of course. There may be a specific reason why a client would prefer to avoid or use certain lenders. This is fine with us. They can even specify the names of individual Managers if they wish. We will then add other lenders to the mix according to the client’s needs

When IBC is involved, will I lose control over the process?

No. When arranging finance, we are careful to agree how the job is to be done, what the timescales are, and what the outcome will be: we keep you informed every step of the way. Most clients are happy to leave it with us.

Testimonials

Independent Banking Consultants were utterly professional and efficient in helping my business make the best financial choices. They were the ultimate problem solvers and negotiated the best financial package tailored for our business. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Vijay Thanwani Managing Director, Gold-In UK Ltd

IBC brought a new perspective to the business plan. They encouraged us to answer the questions we had been avoiding and focussed us on areas of the plan that required greater attention. Ultimately, we successfully raised the finance for which we had previously been turned down.

T.H. Owner, Leisure business

I am indebted to IBC for making the appointment of a new bank simple, straightforward and to my entire satisfaction. They obtained interest rate reductions on my loan and overdraft, and significantly reduced the security and personal guarantees held by our previous bank.

R.W. Managing Director, Import / Export Company

You’ve done an outstanding job getting the bank to do this deal. Many, many thanks for all your efforts and be assured that I will tell as many people as I can as loudly as I can that your unique and highly professional approach is the reason this all came together.

Proprietor Hospitality Business

Since first meeting Ian around 8 weeks ago we have all been impressed by his knowledge, experience, and network of financial community members with whom he clearly has built great credibility over an extensive period. This all led to our successful business mortgage application. He confidently helped us transform our business case and achieve our goal and at a very competitive rate of interest. Ian was a pleasure to work with. He was recommended to us, and we very much recommend him to others seeking a similar service.

P.S. Director Optical Surgery Business

With their expert help and guidance, we managed to secure a finance package that was tailor made to our requirements. Their approach was professional and thorough; giving us options at all the key stages of the transaction.

P.E. Managing Director, Rubber & plastic components supplier

We were referred to IBC by another of their satisfied clients and were particularly impressed with the way hurdles were overcome before meeting the lenders, and how the lenders were briefed upon every aspect of our business.

M.O. Finance Director, Printing company

IBC invest the time to fully understand your business and its financing requirements, which coupled with their excellent banking relationships and understanding of the process means they take away the stress and resource drain to your business of doing this yourself. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them as an advisor for securing your finance requirements.

M.N Director, Property Investment Management Company

IBC are good to have on your side. They understand banking and lending and helped us to get what we wanted. They do it in a professional way and the new banks were delighted to be talking to us. They got us a fantastic result and I would recommend them to any other business looking for finance.

M.D Managing Director,
Fashion design, manufacture & wholesaling

We used the services of Ian Priest from Independent Banking Consultants to help us fund an additional factory unit to accommodate our growth. Having found an ideal site, we were dismayed at the short sighted and blinkered reaction of our existing bankers. However, Ian reviewed the position and very quickly came up with an alternate way of structuring the businesses finances that not only got us where we needed to be but also generated huge savings in the cost of our existing facilities. We know that through Ian’s efforts we have got the best possible deal in the marketplace, but the time we have had to dedicate to dealing with lenders has been minimal. For the first time it felt we were being offered something on our terms and not the banks. I would have no hesitation in recommending Ian.

Kevin Ward Director, Brown & Holmes (Tamworth) Ltd

Now we can get on with farming instead of spending all day and all night worrying about the bank.

J.N. Partner

It was clear that IBC cared not only about the deal, but about us as individuals. This was amazingly helpful as we progressed through reversals and hurdles that would otherwise have pushed our stress to unacceptable levels. Professional at all times IBC often went more than the extra mile and was the catalyst that made this deal happen.

J.G. Managing Director, Fire detection systems

If you need help to raise capital like many do then Russell and the team are a very good place to start. You cannot always do it all yourself and to use the plumbing analogy ‘knowing where to hit the pipe’ may cost a bit but save you a lot of time and heartache.

G.W. Managing Director, I.T. Specialists

Our business being at the forefront of the international tourist and travel industry with operations spanning over 40 different countries, was one of the first hit when COVID-19 arrived in Europe. With our revenues being decimated overnight we went from a business with a turnover of tens of millions having no borrowings, to a business requiring immediate financial stimulus in order to navigate these unprecedented times. The services of Independent Banking Consultants and those especially of Russell Snowdon were recommended to us. Russell meticulously guided us through the complexities of raising money in what has possibly been the most challenging of circumstances. Russell remained steadfast in his support and conviction in helping us and his hard work and due diligence paid off with us receiving a multi-million pound facility that secured the company's future. We cannot thank Russell and his team enough for their support and trust in our business.

Founder GM

Your assistance in finding the right finance deal and helping us through this process was invaluable.

Director Building Supplies Company

Where IBC played such a crucial role was as an ‘enabler’, to ensure that the proposal was presented in the right way under the noses of the right people at the banks.

D.O. Managing Director, Recycling company

Suffice to say I don’t think you could have been any more helpful. You saved me a huge amount of time and brought a swathe of knowledge and contacts I could never hope to accrue. I would recommend Ian and IBC without reservation.

Business Owner Veterinary Practice

Initially we were referred to IBC for what we thought was a straightforward business mortgage following less than satisfactory discussions with our then bank. Russell took a step back and applied some astute out-of-the-box thinking to our situation and in doing so recommended a very different solution, saving us a significant amount of money. As part of the process IBC secured us a much better deal with a new bank, and with their recommended Foreign Exchange partner. IBC were incredibly supportive throughout and I cannot recommend them enough.

A.H Director, Optical Retailing Business