Aldermore to fund "soft" assets

Aldermore Asset Finance has now included in its offering and is now accepting proposals for financing soft assets. The bank, which is known for providing funding for hard assets, will now be available for funding of items such as software and other IT related items, telecom and communications equipment, security equipment, furniture, fittings, and other smaller office equipment.  Soft assets are classified as assets that have low intrinsic and resale value. There are certain criteria that must be met to qualify though, the asset must first be distinguishable or easily identified via something such as a serial number, it must have an economic life of at least three years, it must be easy to repossess, and it must have a secondary market for resale - all fairly standard for the asset finance market.  These assets can be financed via an instalment plan or lease finance.  Software funding is limited to 40% of assets funded, while soft costs, like installation and servicing must be limited to 20%. This new offering is part of the company's drive to become the leading provider of asset finance facilities in the markets where they are present.  This would also allow brokers to provide a complete solution to those seeking asset financing. Like any innovation to the asset finance market, this is to be welcomed. So far this year we have seen more companies keen to expand their asset finance offering and the increased competition is leading to more deals being done and an improved level of liquidity for UK SMEs. What we have found though is that an increasing number of businesses are having to look away from traditional bank finance and into areas like asset finance and other less conventional ways of raising money (the growth of the Merchant Cash Advance being a classic example of this). At Choice Loans we aren't just an Asset finance broker or even just a Commercial Finance broker. Our wide range of finance solutions across both business and personal finance allows us to look at funding requirements in a more complete manner and, especially for small owner-led businesses, offer a broader range of options. If you need help with asset finance for your business, please either call us on 0845 1260350 or complete our Asset Finance enquiry form here and we will call you.