Cautious optimism sweeps through Post-
Brexit Scottish deal market
COMMENT
To find out how Wylie+Bisset can help your business visit
http://www.wyliebisset.comGerald McLaughlinA MOOD of cautious
optimism is sweeping through
the Post-Brexit Scottish deal
market as many of the larger
deals that had been put on
hold pending political clarity
surrounding Brexit prepare to
proceed.
While deal volume declined
by over 10% in the first six
months of last year, we are
cautiously optimistic that
it will rise over the next six
months. Certainly, we have
already seen increased activity
in the SME space, fuelled
partly by low interest rates
and a period of consolidation
following the previous
recession.
Just five years ago over 80%
of the small business loan
market was still accounted
for by the four largest banks.
The introduction of more
alternative funding sources,
and a more pragmatic view
on returns by the mid-market
PE houses and smaller equity
funds, has helped stimulate
activity across the board.
And the availability of
funding remains a key
factor in getting deals done.
The emergence of ‘patient
capital’ and a number ofalternative ABL providers
has allowed businesses
with less immediate growth
opportunities to benefit
from transactions. Given
the prominence of SMEs
in the Scottish market, this
has provided a platform for
additional deal activity.
Although the protracted
nature of Brexit resulted
in more and prolonged
uncertainty, leading to a
marked slowdown in larger
deals throughout last year, we
have seen continued activity
throughout healthcare and the
care sector in general, while
business services is another
growth area.
We expect activity within the
healthcare sector to continue,
based on the demographic
make-up of the UK, fuelled
further by recent changes
to the provision of nursery
education in Scotland.
Elsewhere, I anticipate
increased investment
throughout AI, and fintech
in particular, as end users
continue to look for ways
to automate compliance
functions and the mood of
cautious optimism becomes
more widespread.Gerald McLaughlin is Corporate
Finance Partner, Wylie & Bisset
Chartered AccountantsIt’s time to focus on cash
COMMENT
For more information contact [email protected]Mark SimpsonVarious reports in the
financial press recently have
highlighted the increased
number of companies in
financial distress. Many
Scottish businesses are
concerned about managing
payments due to their
employees, key suppliers
and HMRC.
Cash is the life blood
of any business and
improving cashflow is key
to what we do at BRS Credit
Management. Too often we
find that directors focus
on growth and sales at the
front end without giving
due attention to making
sure they get paid on time
for the goods or services
they have provided. If you
don’t get paid on time, then
customers are using your
cash to fund their business.
A lack of working capital
puts a strain on everyone
especially when suppliers
have you on stop and your
hard-earned reputation
starts to suffer.
Sometimes a change of
approach is needed and
improvements to processes
and procedures that have
become stagnant could
help to significantly bring
down debtor days and letyour customers know that
you are in control of debt
collection.
BRS Credit Management,
part of the BRS Corporate
Services Group, is a niche
Glasgow based consultancy
that specialises in working
with and supporting
businesses facing financial
difficulties or going through
a period of change. We work
closely with businesses,
both distressed and non-
distressed, to help improve
their cashflow and reduce
the risk of bad debts by
developing robust processes
and procedures within their
credit control departments.
Outsourcing part, or all
of your sales ledger and
having external support
to help tackle aged debts
can improve collections.
Our approach is simple
yet effective, professional,
persistent and ethical with
courteous communication
and patient negotiations at
the core.
We work on a case-by-case
basis with each operative
having responsibility for
a manageable number of
accounts, as opposed to the
more common “call centre”
multi-client approach.Mark Simpson, Group Operations
Director, BRS Credit Management &
Collection Limitedhttp://www.brs-consulting.co.uk