Following a successful 2011, the largest independent finance house in Wales, Henry Howard Finance, has secured an extra £4M in funding, allowing it to significantly increase its lending capacity.
In the last financial year, Newport-based Henry Howard Finance leant over £30M to SMEs and hopes to increase this to £40M in the forthcoming year.
This announcement comes following research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that has shown that the number of small businesses using a bank overdraft or loan has fallen in the last two years. The FSB has established that only one in three small businesses are using an overdraft facility, one in ten has been able to secure a bank loan and one in three business owners have resorted to using their own savings to fund their business.
Mark Crook, managing director of Henry Howard Finance, said: “We are really pleased to have secured this extra £4M and are excited about the increased lending capacity that it has given us. Despite a real push by the government to encourage high street banks to lend more, it is clear that they have, in fact, shrunk their lending this year.
“As well as continuing to work with equipment suppliers, our newest offering, Henry Howard Direct, will allow us to work in partnership with small businesses that need finance, hopefully enabling them to strengthen their organisation.”
Henry Howard Finance specialises in business leasing ranging from £5-£100,000. Agreements are FLA regulated and are of a fixed rate and fixed term.