We see the potential in new start businesses and go the extra mile to approve them for finance so that they can get their business off the ground and grow.
Tower is not soley focused on closing a sale, we would much rather build a strong relationship with our customers so that when you’re ready to invest in some equipment, we are here for you.
Case Study
The beginning of a great relationship
In November 2014 an equipment supplier that we have worked alongside for many years recommended us to a new start chiropractor business. The chiropractor was in need of finance and leasing is the perfect way to invest in vital equipment whilst keeping cash flow within the business.
Shortly after this recommendation the Practice Manager, Aliya, contacted us and spoke to a member of our underwriting team, Lucy Smith. The potential customer advised that they were planning to open multiple branches across the UK and outlined what equipment they were looking to invest in. Lucy informed the customer of all the information we would need in order to get finance in place for the new start business. At this moment in time the customer was just looking to discover whether leasing would be the right option for the business and advised that she would contact Tower when they were ready to invest in the equipment needed.
A genuine desire to help
In February 2015 the equipment supplier who referred the chiropractor to Tower contacted us to tell us the business was successfully moving in the right direction. Lucy was pleased to hear the positive news and dropped Aliya an email to congratulate her on the success so far. Aliya appreciated Lucy’s kind words and advised that they were nearly ready to invest in some equipment and was gathering the information required.
All systems go…
Early May we received a call from the potential customer with the news that they were ready to go ahead and invest in some equipment. As it was the company’s first time leasing Lucy spent some time informing Aliya of what information Tower needed to get the business cleared for finance. The customer sent through bits and pieces of information and Lucy filtered through it to ensure all the information was 100% relevant and would help us secure the finance the customer needed.
Over the next month Lucy and Aliya worked closely to create a robust file of information to present to our funders. Once all the information was collected the company requested a meeting with Lucy and our MD, Kerry Howells, to ensure everything would go smoothly. During the meeting Lucy & Kerry explained our role and the process of successfully getting companies approved for finance, Aliya and the Director of the business, Sherie, explained how their business works and their aims for the future.
It was concluded that the chiropractor was in need of £50k – £70k funding, Kerry & Lucy reassured the customer that we would do everything in our power to make this happen.
The final stages
Following on from the meeting the deal was passed over to another member of our underwriting team, Georgia Robson; it was Georgia’s job to present the situation to our funders. The new start sent Georgia their business plan to review and she recognised clear potential for success. Through using the information carefully compiled by Lucy and the customer Georgia went through the process of selecting the right funders to approach with the proposal. Due to the size of the proposal Georgia chose three of our most commercial funders to place the deal with, this was because they issue acceptances in a similar way to Tower so it would minimise the amount of additional information needed from the customer.
Georgia’s selection and judgement was correct and only a minimal amount of additional information was required for the funders to accept the proposal.
The result
As a result of the team’s hard work and strong relationship with the customer, we were able to approve the chiropractor for £50k, enabling the new start to invest in the equipment they needed to secure a successful future.
