Christoper and Marion Pitcher have been at the helm of their family-run pub group for 17 years. They were approached with the opportunity to switch suppliers, being offered a fee incentive and a reduced cost on beer supply. This was more than peanuts – the switch would unlock significant additional profitability that would go straight to the bottom line and the Pitchers realised this was too good an opportunity to miss.
While the decision was easy, carrying out the plan was difficult due to their circumstances:
When the bank called time on the Pitchers’ credit line, they sent for Swoop.
Ann Marie Swift, Commercial Finance Manager at Swoop, took on the case with a thirst to find lenders that were looking to support the pub sector. Through gaining a thorough understanding of the proposed deal and the assets of the Pitcher Pub Group, Ann Marie demonstrated the improvement in profitability from switching suppliers would comfortably support the refinance of the existing brewery loan. Furthermore, she argued that the refinance should not be considered as ‘projection led’ due to the fact there would be no significant uplift in revenue; this was purely a case of unlocking additional profitability from existing revenue.
Swoop’s approach is to understand individual cases by staying close with all stakeholders at every stage of the journey. The team’s in-cider knowledge of the financial products on the market allows them to overcome the usual obstacles that see customers being turned away by their existing banks.
Ann Marie secured a speci-ale deal for Pitcher Pub Group. The client successfully refinanced their brewery loan with a lender supplied by Swoop and were able to switch suppliers, resulting in a direct gain on the profit margin.
The additional profitability means that the Pitchers can reinvest in their portfolio of pubs and optimise new opportunities at a time when the sector has found it particularly difficult to continue trading, let alone improve their offer.
Going beyond the beer necessities, Christoper Pitcher summarised his experience with Swoop:
‘Ann Marie was excellent at Swoop. She was able to refinance three of our pubs. I cannot thank her and the team enough and can only recommend her services.’
On always challenging the market status-quo and finding our customers the best deals, Ann Marie says:
‘We often see clients accepting their bank’s response and missing out on opportunities. It’s rewarding to be able to challenge constructively and reveal other options. We can find a better solution that ultimately delivers an outcome that can impact a customer’s business growth aspirations.’
The moral of the story: if your bank has you over a barrel, Swoop will pull out the stops to ensure you have a reason to break out the champagne!
Alex Dury is like many entrepreneurs: after a lifetime of acquiring skills and experience in one area, they see an opportunity where those skills put them at an advantage. In Alex’s case, his career as a builder meant that property investment was an attractive option for him as he could add value to his own property at low cost.
When Alex saw that a bed and breakfast plus two small cottages had been on the market, Alex saw the opportunity as too good to pass up: the three properties are based near the seaside in rural East Sussex and comprise a six bed house (previously used as a B&B) plus a pair of two bed cottages.
Unfortunately, a number of factors made the purchase difficult:
When Alex approached Swoop, we were confident that we could help where others had failed. Ann Marie Swift, Commercial Finance Manager at Swoop, carried out full research into the property finance market to secure the funding package needed at the most competitive rate available to the client and his specific set of circumstances.
Through this research, Ann Marie was able to identify a lender able to deliver despite the issues and challenges affecting the property and the situation of the borrower.
Swoop liaised with agents of the vendor throughout to confirm progress and provide reassurance that the sale would happen despite the number of previous failures by other potential buyers. This liaison included contacting the lenders and their valuer on the day of valuation to ensure a positive result for our customer and answering legal questions raised throughout the process, from initial application all the way through to completion.
The purchase was further complicated by the customer changing their loan requirement midway through the process. The loan therefore had to be restructured with a focus to retain the interest rate due to an LTV cap at the rate secured.
The result? Alex Dury told Swoop:
“Ann Marie Swift has made the onerous process of securing a commercial mortgage on a complex plot an absolute pleasure. She always answered my many calls or returned them very quickly. All my queries were listened to and sorted with patience and professionalism, even my more daft ones.”
Ann Marie says:
“For brokers who want to make a quick buck, it’s often easier to step away than pursue a challenging opportunity all the way to the end. I’m delighted that we were able to help Alex, as I felt sure we would be able to from the moment we started speaking. The team at Swoop wishes him all the best with his new holiday lets.”
We’ll give the last word to Alex:
“Thank you Ann Marie, you were the only broker who was prepared to take on the challenge of my complex purchase and without you I would not have completed.”
With COVID-19 closing restaurants across the country, The Brook pivoted to delivering restaurant-quality plant-based meals to locked-down customers.
Today, the company’s delivery service has diversified to include a range of products available in dedicated chiller cabinets at supermarkets such as Co-operative, Budgens and Londis.
With plant-based eating becoming more popular, the business model is one that Thea Brook, Founder at The Brook, plans to expand post-pandemic. Thea originally approached Swoop to find a bridging loan:
“We needed to increase our production capacity so that we could take on the bigger retailers,” says Thea. “Swoop not only saved us a lot of time, they also got us a good deal.”
A loan from Mint moved The Brook to the next stage in their evolution. Thea says that the funding enabled her to take advantage of the opportunity to make a name for the business in retail:
“Not to be too dramatic, but getting the money was life or death for the business. It meant that we didn’t have to raise again to build the business to where it needed to be. We could focus inwards and make sure our processes and recipes were where they had to be, rather than focus outwards looking for sources of funding.”
Thea makes particular mention of Andrew Moon who oversaw the funding journey. Thea says:
“Andrew had so much positive energy when it came to asking questions about the business. He had a million ideas about finance options for us both to serve our immediate need and also looking further down the road.”
One such idea has proved fruitful: Andrew introduced The Brook to Innovate UK EDGE. The company is now in a year-long project following an award of £14,000 for a £20,000 project to rebuild their online platform.
Thea says that the experience of working with Swoop has enabled her vision for the company to be realised:
“We initially approached Swoop to solve a short term problem. Swoop’s genuine desire to learn about us and find further solutions as the company grows means that we now consider this to be more of a long term partnership.”
To find out how Swoop can help your business by accessing funding across grants, finance and equity as well as saving you money on bank accounts FX and energy bills, join our community of SMEs here
With the repayment holiday ending for many of those who took out CBILS products at the beginning of the pandemic, many are looking at whether the loans can be restructured to create better cashflow outcomes or help them take advantage of new opportunities. The Swoop team is always ready to help businesses that need to make their money work that little bit harder…
Seb, Senior Funding Manager at Swoop, has been working with a construction company that was paying 12 percent on a £150k loan.
“The initial loan was through the CBILS scheme with an accredited CBILS lender and when the repayment holiday ended, the shock of the new outgoing prompted the customer to ask whether they couldn’t get a better deal elsewhere.”
Through using Swoop’s experienced Funding Managers the client was offered a refinancing deal at just eight percent on the same 48 month term. “Over the course of the lifetime of the loan, this represents a saving of over £10,000 to the customer,” says Seb. “That sort of money makes a real difference and has a noticeable impact on cashflow for my customer’s business.”
Meanwhile, a cladding company found they needed to raise further funds to buy essential machinery needed to carry out a recently-won £4million contract.
The customer approached David, Senior Funding Manager at Swoop, when they were unable to agree a deal to raise further funds through their original lender. David says:
“The customer had initially raised £150k through CBILS with a lender away from the high street, but their circumstances changed for the better when they successfully won a pitch for a major new contract. Swoop arranged a refinance on their existing CBILS facility for the original amount plus a further £250k to allow the customer to deliver the contract.”
The customer and their client now know that they have the tools they need to carry out the work as required while saving money on the debt they already had in their books – thanks to Swoop’s expert help and market knowledge.
Are your loan repayments more expensive than they should be? Do you need to borrow further money for an upcoming project? Find out how much you could borrow with over 1,000 lenders here
“Swoop’s professional service, fast answers to my emails and determination turned a bumpy ride into smooth sailing… I recommend Swoop absolutely for their brilliant work.”
Jay Patel
Founder, PNH Stores
Jay Patel’s Premier Express shop has been trading for five years, building a strong business with regular customers. For the last four years, it has also housed a Post Office, making the property home to essential services for the local community.
When the freeholder offered to sell the whole site to their tenant, Jay went to his accountant who recommended Swoop.
The deal was complicated by a proposed change of property use, to include both commercial and residential. Nevertheless, following an assessment of the key aspects of the deal and understanding Jay’s requirements, Swoop was able to present a number of funding options.
Jay reviewed the terms of these options and was able to secure a funder with appetite: an alternative lender based on the most flexible terms.
AnnMarie Swift, the Funding Manager at Swoop who oversaw the application says:
“Time for offer to completion was protracted by change of personnel both across the funder and the legal firm, requiring me to do a lot more hand holding throughout the process.”
AnnMarie’s hands-on approach ultimately saw the deal complete rather than fall through – to the delight of Jay:
“Thanks to Swoop, my application for a loan completed in one month rather than six. The team was absolutely super quick with the best communication and handled my case in a professional manner. Swoop’s professional service, fast answers to my emails and determination turned a bumpy ride into smooth sailing and I have really enjoyed working with them.”
Today, Jay Patel’s PHN Stores is more than a shop: it’s a home for both a business and a family. As customers pay for their goods, they are contributing to Jay’s future, not just to his landlord’s bank balance.
Jay says that the sale has given him confidence to grow his business further – and after his experience, he knows exactly where to turn:
“Swoop has really talented people. I will be contacting Swoop to fund my next venture. I recommend Swoop absolutely for their brilliant work.”
Commercial mortgages are just one of the product types available through Swoop. To learn more about how Swoop helps businesses find the funding they need across grants, loans and equity, click here.
Andrea Reynolds, Founder and CEO at Swoop Funding
Three years after launching a digital platform in the UK that has enabled thousands of small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to acquire millions of pounds of financing, Swoop Finance expanded into North America.
As its point of entry to the market, the company selected Toronto, the second-largest financial centre in North America, and Ontario, the second largest tech cluster in North America.
says Andrea Reynolds, Swoop’s founder and CEO. “Toronto has the highest volume of top-quality SMEs in Canada. From here, we can get to know the market and the nuances of the SME community not just in the city but elsewhere in Canada and the U.S.”
Working directly with SMEs, in partnership with banks, non-bank lenders, advisors, chambers of commerce and other participants in the financial sector, Swoop provides a digital platform where customers can compare thousands of financial products and services, from loans, cash advances and credit facilities to equity, mortgages, grants and tax credits.
Using Swoop’s platform, they can assess their financial requirements and then gain access to appropriate financing “in one fell swoop,” says Reynolds.
The company’s technology benefits SMEs and their advisors alike.
Reynolds continues. “Serving them digitally, we can provide better service while helping them to operate more efficiently.”
In Canada, Swoop’s research has determined that 350,000 SMEs already use digital services. With open banking on the horizon, that number will increase, presenting new opportunities for Swoop, says Reynolds.
Swoop also sees opportunities in introducing Canadian SMEs to non-bank lenders. In the UK, Swoop provides white-label solutions to banks and other financial institutions, enabling them to offer a wider range of online funding products and services such as grants, equity and alternative debt. NatWest, for example, used a white-label solution from Swoop to give SME customers access not only to NatWest Loans but also to grants tailored to their business needs. Within the first week, more than 2,000 SMEs engaged with the tool.
Swoop’s expansion into North America follows a similar foray in 2020 into Australia and gives the company a similar opportunity to provide SMEs with digital financial services.
With support from organizations in England and Canada, the company identified strategic partners within Toronto’s financial services community.
Reynolds says. “We also received a lot of help from London & Partners in the UK.”
Before opening a Toronto office, Reynolds and her team had already established partnerships with more than 30 lenders in Canada. As a member of the Mayor of London’s International Business Programme, she then met in person with more potential partners in the city during a North American Trade Mission in the Fall of 2021.
With a Canadian location, two Swoop employees had no trouble emigrating from the UK while still giving them access to U.S. markets. Swoop then added three employees, hired locally, to join the team.
“The government has created an operating environment to encourage tech companies to invest, so Ontario’s R&D tax environment is now regarded as the best in the world,” says Reynolds, who learned first-hand about the financial needs of spin-off companies as a consultant to McLaren F1 Applied Technologies. “As a result, the province’s tech talent pool is phenomenal.”
As an integrated hub for financial management and planning, Swoop not only helps SMEs locate appropriate financing, it also identifies ways to save money, helping them to achieve better financial health.
For example:
“Putting the right money at the right time into the hands of business owners as they go through each stage, whether it be growth or cash crunch, is our mission,” says Reynolds, “and nothing gives me more pleasure than to see our customers flourish as a result.”
she continues. “An important factor to growth for SMEs is access to financing, and that’s the opportunity that we’re here for.”
Hilary O’Dwyer who heads up Titian Consulting in Australia offers virtual CFO services to small businesses. As a small business owner, you need outside assistance with strategic planning; financial processes, cashflow management and forecasting, reporting and compliance. The same clients often have questions about securing funding for their business including working capital loans and capital raises. The challenge is to provide them with timely information and connect them to right funding suited to their business needs.
Hilary – “I had actually come across Swoop through an event organized by the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce and thought Swoop’s product offering was fantastic. Some of my clients had been talking about financing and had been trying to access SME Government backed loans without much luck, that’s when I thought Swoop could help”
Swoop worked with Titian Consulting to assist 4 of their clients with their funding needs. The Swoop team was able to work with Hilary to understand the clients business needs and make recommendations for funding options tailored to the business’s requirements. Swoop was able to successfully assist all 4 clients with their debt applications to suitable funders and get speedy approval.
Advisor testimonial – “I have connected 4 of my clients with Swoop and all of them were successfully funded. All 4 had no backing from the big banks yet were able to take advantage of non-bank funding which shows how well Swoop works for businesses like these. This gives me confidence to refer more clients to Swoop for their funding needs”
The Challenge
AreaWealth is a technology driven investment management platform that maximises efficiencies for advisers in managing their clients’ financial needs. The Australian fintech provides a secure all-in-one platform that integrates a vast array of tools and resources through which advisers can assess, identify, and initiate targeted solutions for their clients. With their business model proven, Areawealth was eager to pursue ambitious strategic objectives to further client growth as well as expand their product offerings. In order to do so Areawealth needed access to further equity capital yet was unsure of how to navigate the equity landscape successfully.
The Solution
Areawealth initiated an equity seed capital raise with Swoop and leveraged Swoop’s expertise and connections within the equity funding space. Initially, Swoop – led by our equity expert Tim Brown – assisted in the preparation of AreaWealth’s pitch deck and presentation. Following such, AreaWealth was introduced to First Pacific Capital who would become their strategic funding partner.
The Results
With Swoop working as an intermediary and advisor to AreaWealth and First Pacific Capital throughout the process, AreaWealth was able to secure a capital raise of $2 million dollars.
Client Testimonial
“Swoop has been instrumental in achieving our desired Seed round funding objective which was oversubscribed, through an introduction of a Strategic Funding Partner – First Pacific Capital Pty Ltd. Throughout this process Tim has been strategic, collaborative and supportive working directly with AreaWealth and First Pacific Capital.”
Dean Lupton, Chief Commercial Officer – Area Wealth Administration Services Pty Ltd
Moi Moi Sauce needed security to grow with confidence. Swoop found the perfect accompaniment.
Founded by Arron Maddix, Moi Moi Sauce is a sustainable and environmentally friendly brand offering a selection of hot sauces to its customers. Alongside this, they have also created a pop-up restaurant business, with long term ambitions to turn this venture into an event catering company.
With customer sales increasing, Arron knew the next step was to invest more in the business, but needed some extra capital to achieve this.
Having met Neil Dillon, Swoop’s Head of Equity, on a Virgin Step Up course, Arron decided to solicit Swoop’s help in his search for funding. Working with David from the Swoop team, he explored a number of potential routes, and settled on an advance funding option via YouLend. This solution provided a Merchant Cash Advance of £12,000 for unexpected expenses, which in turn gave Moi Moi Sauce the extra security it needed for the business to grow.
Having secured the cash advance, the business was more cash flow stable. They will be moving to a new kitchen soon and scaling up in terms of production to a factory in Milton Keynes. With plans to create a sustainable recycling system connected to Moi Moi Sauce bottles, they are excited about the next steps in their business plan.
“Swoop is very good at managing your expectations, helping you to remain realistic about the funding opportunities available to you.”
“They provide support throughout the process so you don’t feel like you’re just attached to a capital fund company.”
https://moimoisauce.com
https://www.instagram.com/moimoisauce/
A highly innovative company discover a new route to funding vital staff through Swoop
Note Taking Express, part of Habitat Learn, began life as a directional microphone designed to help disabled and dyslexic students record lectures. Over the years, the company has grown and shifted to become a complete note-taking service available through institutional clients.
A highly innovative company, the business has completed four successful applications for Innovate UK grants within a year and there is a perennial challenge to raise funds to progress the development of software that uses AI and machine learning to extract useful information from spoken speech.
The company’s latest challenge, enhancing a video conferencing platform to include natural language processing for closed captioning and an automated interface for translation, required the addition of developers to the existing team.
Through Swoop, the company was able to identify and successfully apply for a loan of £180,000 with ArchOver.
The loan was awarded on the outcome of a grant application and successful completion of due diligence, which demonstrated the strong business case for the project.
Securing the loan has enabled Note Taking Express to employ three new developers, bringing their development team up to 20 staff.
The company is on track to deliver the improved platform in time for the beginning of term in September, enhancing the education experience for students across a range of disabilities.
“I was impressed by their level of due diligence, looking at the financials and stress testing our business case. It was good for us as a business to go through this process. Swoop guided us through the process in a highly professional manner, introducing us to a source of funding we had not considered before and ensured that we had a successful outcome for our application.”
The challenge
Presols offers long-term, high-quality and sustainable products and solutions for both business and retail segments. Aware of the shift in preferences and attitudes of the general public towards hygiene following the impact of COVID-19, and concerned about the major environmental impact of disposable masks, Presols sought to become a holistic provider of preventative hygiene products. This includes offering their customers high-quality washable, reusable and customisable facemasks.
Having partnered with manufacturers across each of their product lines, and now at the point of generating revenue and breaking-even, additional revenue was needed to take the business to its next stage of growth.
The solution
It was at this point that the team at Presols applied for Startup Funding having been connected to Virgin Startup by Swoop. The Swoop team also helped Presols assess their FX exposure and identify how they could be charged less FX fees for every inventory order made in dollars.
The results
Presols was able to use the funds to finance inventory purchase, enabling further growth for the business as the team continues to achieve great results like receiving Amazon’s Choice for one of their face mask collection.
Client testimonial
“We came across Swoop through a web search. The experience with Swoop has been fantastic. They really took the time to understand our business and continue to engage with us. This has helped us open new doors of funding and cost savings.”
https://www.linkedin.com/company/presolsuk/
https://www.facebook.com/presolsuk/
https://www.instagram.com/presolsuk/
The challenge
Sole Associates had been approached by a client, specialising in haulage, who was looking to finance a new vehicle and therefore wanted to review their funding options.
The solution
Having been previously connected with Swoop through a peer group made up of accountancy firms across the UK, Joe put the client in touch with Sarah from the Swoop team who was able to liaise directly with the client and provide a comprehensive overview of the options available to the business.
The results
Working together, Sarah and the client were able to come up with a solution which not only provided what was needed to finance the new vehicle, but would also replace existing finance with better terms.
Advisor testimonial
“Our partnership with Swoop not only enables us to talk more confidently with clients about commercial finance, but also to hand over to a team of experts who can speak to clients directly about their options and has access to a wide panel of lenders.
Sarah from the Swoop team was able to add value to our client’s search for funding by providing the best and most competitive solution which we otherwise wouldn’t have been aware of.”
Joe Sole, Managing Director of Sole Associates
https://www.soleassociates.co.uk/
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