There’s a welcome back to school feel in our office this week. After the longest of summers and the very sad news from last Thursday, it’s good to spend time solely focused on work and business matters.
In addition to our fund-raising assignments, we have been undertaking some hands-on advisory work, mostly for businesses in turnaround mode, and where investment may be out of reach or just not the right time for the business owners.
We have one such case below which we feel is worth highlighting.

It’s far too late to shout about the new year, but it’s definitely worth celebrating a return to the workplace and a commitment by the Government that business activity and lifestyles pre pandemic are to be encouraged. Business owners can plan with confidence, and investors likewise can take confidence in the certainty of continuous trading environments.

Well, it’s definitely Autumn now that the clocks have gone back. And cold for those of us hitting the 7am trains into Waterloo. That’s not every day I hasten to add!

Monday marked the return to some sense of normality and another positive step towards the economy fully reopening. As well as the luxury of now being able to enjoy a meal or a drink inside (although it looked like a typically quiet Monday in our little piece of Holborn), there is a lot to be positive about in our industry.

We have feedback from clients and professional contacts that some banks and other lenders are currently reviewing the terms of their factoring and invoice discounting facilities.

Whilst it’s an understatement to say how strange our world of work has been over the past 12 months, we’re now seeing consistent evidence of activity levels on the rise. Good news indeed for our SME community.

To all our readers who have not ventured into London recently, I can tell you that it’s still quiet, too quiet – well it certainly is in the Holborn area and surrounds.

On Sunday, all of us expect to hear the government’s strategy to ease lockdown restrictions. So far this week we have been offered a slow drip of hints and comments as to what life will be like at the workplace when we are able to return.

This week the government announced a £1.25bn package for innovative small businesses. The package, which will be launched in May, includes the Future Fund, offering loans between £125,000 and £5 million if matched by funding from private investors.

Due to the escalating national and global impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we know that the weeks and months ahead are going to be super tough for so many businesses.