Chris Godfrey

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) are UK Government-backed investment programmes for young, high-growth potential companies. The schemes give generous tax relief to investors in these types of businesses. They invest, you […]

Raising funds for a social enterprise is always tough – gifts and donations can be erratic and businesses and projects that lack a profit feature typically miss investor interest. Fortunately, Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) can make life easier for those that chase the […]

The VCT and EIS business investment schemes are designed for SMEs and investors, but which one’s best for you? The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture […]

At some stage in their journey, many businesses require more investment to keep momentum going. However, without taking on expensive debt, it can often be difficult to raise the needed funds. The Government supported Enterprise Investment Scheme aims to ease this burden by giving […]

Getting a young company off the ground has never been easy. As well as assembling a team, finding premises, and building the concept, there’s the mammoth task of securing funds. Investors are notoriously wary of entrepreneurs and untested ideas, which is partly why approximately […]

Raising start-up and seed capital for young companies has always been difficult. Investors can be wary of entrepreneurs and untried ideas. The UK Government-supported Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) makes this process easier by giving generous tax relief to investors […]

If you're a UK business with assets and you're looking for capital to grow, then securing a business loan against one or more your assets could be the ideal way to raise the funding you need. By taking security, the lender is much less likely to lose money should you fail to keep up the repayments. This means you will be more likely to be approved for a secured loan, as well as be offered lower interest rates, longer terms, and larger loans for your business. Between the banks and the alternative finance market, there is a broad range of lenders in the UK, each offering a variety of lending products.

Get your free business credit score The deals you can get from lenders depend on your credit score: the better your score, the cheaper it is to borrow.  Swoop has joined forces with Credit Passport to rate your business' credit. The service is free and does not affect credit scores, unlike […]

The Start Up Loans programme is a UK-wide, government-backed scheme that offers a personal loan, up to £25,000 to those that have a viable business idea but no access to finance. All successful loan recipients are offered free mentoring and access to exclusive business offers.

Lloyds Bank has been hit with a government and business backlash over its decision to raise bank fees for businesses. As reported in the Daily Mail and the Times […]

Invoice finance is a popular choice for many UK businesses. Instead of waiting weeks for payment, receive up to 95% of the invoice sum in just a day or two.

Asset Finance is a fast-growing funding choice for UK businesses. It makes it easier to buy, use and benefit from big-ticket items such as vehicles, plant, and machinery. Instead of paying one large sum upfront, spread the cost over time with smaller, regular payments. Use the items as you pay for the items and take pressure off your cashflow. Alternatively, make more of the high-value items your business already owns. Use those assets as collateral for loans to help your business grow.

UK Government Restart grants are now available to businesses in England that have been most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme provides funds to help retail, hospitality, […]

It may be relatively new to the business world, but the merchant cash advance is already a prime source of funding for consumer-facing businesses