LONDON, 9 May, 2019 – There’s never been a better time to secure funding for a business in the UK, and many entrepreneurs have made use of the wealth of angel, crowd and vc money available.
For some businesses that’s the right path, but many others choose to grow using different sorts of capital. Lots of founders opt to use forms of debt like loans or invoice financing to grow and hold on to ownership of their business.
Employing finance at the right moment can be crucial to a business’s success. It might free up working capital tied up in unpaid invoices, or help to fund a major acquisition. Other SMEs might need a capital boost to acquire key talent or invest in developing intellectual property.
That’s why we’re launching a new competition in May to find an ambitious UK business that has made great use of growth finance. We want to celebrate the teams that have used finance intelligently to scale up and win new business.
Our goal is to find and shortlist six SMEs that have used growth finance in the past two years, celebrate their success at the inaugural Growth Finance Awards on September 11 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London – and then announce the winner of the ‘Best Use of Growth Finance 2019’.
What’s the prize?
We will select six SMEs to join us at the inaugural Growth Finance Awards as finalists.
The winner will be chosen by an independent judging panel and awarded their trophy on stage at the black-tie dinner.
The team will win the recognition of their peers, customers and of the finance community, highlighting their intelligent use of finance to expand. In the process it will position the company as an attractive team to work for or do business with.
Finalists will also be announced in an upcoming supplement to be featured in CityAM.
What is growth finance?
By ‘growth finance’, we mean any form of funding for a fast-growing business that consists of debt, not equity.
Eligible deals could be bank loans, overdrafts, P2P business loans, invoice financing, asset-based lending, venture debt or more.
Successful applicants will demonstrate how the proceeds of the funding have helped them to grow and win new business.
The important thing is to show how the funding has had a real impact on the company’s growth and been crucial to its success – becoming “more than finance”.
If you have a story that fits the bill, find out how to enter below.
How do I enter?
Please send a Word document in any format to the email address below that mentions:
- A short introduction (max 300 words) to the company and its mission
- The type of finance being showcased
- The size of the deal and what the proceeds were used for
- Which company or platform provided the finance
- What problems did it fix: did it provide the funds to develop an exciting new product, for example? Or did it fix a cash-flow problem?
- How the company has grown since putting the finance to work
You can submit entries individually or in conjunction with lenders/lending platforms.
Please send entries to joe@intelligent-partnership.com before the end of May.
Who are we?
At Intelligent Partnership, we encourage the flow of capital into the UK’s vibrant small and medium-sized businesses.
We run the Growth Investor Awards, which are now in their fifth year. They honour all those involved in putting investment to work in high-potential businesses.
Their sister event, the Growth Finance Awards, is launching in September this year and focuses on the finance that helps small businesses to grow. As well as celebrating a dynamic young businesses, we’re celebrating the financiers, lending platforms, and other service providers who them throughout their journeys.
CONTACT:
Joe Kavanagh, Senior editor – SMEs
Joe@intelligent-partnership.com
020 3375 1707