Commercial Finance

Fisher & Co Commercial Finance

Clear commercial finance advice & access to the best lenders, all in one place.

Helping Businesses Get the Funding They Need

Whether it’s property, asset, or commercial funding, we cover it all, delivering flexible finance solutions tailored to your business needs.

Why Choose Us?

At Fisher & Co Financial, continuous improvement is ingrained in our DNA. Each day, we dedicate ourselves to honing our skills and excelling in every aspect of our work.

We're accountants, so we truly understand the financial side

We don’t just look at the loan. We understand your broader financial picture, so we can give advice that actually works for your situation.

FCA-registered with whole-of-market access

We're fully regulated and have access to a wide range of lenders, so you get the most competitive options available, not just what's on the high street.

No upfront fees, no pressure, just honest advice

We believe in transparency. You'll never be hit with hidden costs or pushed into decisions. We're here to guide, not sell.

Personal support from start to finish

You’ll work with a real person who gets to know your goals, not a call centre. We're with you every step of the way.

We work with trusted lenders, not just the big banks

From specialist lenders to alternative finance options, we explore what’s best for you, even if it’s not the obvious choice.

Business Funding

Invoice Finance
Asset Finance
Business Loans

Invoice finance is a financial solution that allows businesses to unlock the value of their unpaid invoices, providing an immediate boost to working capital. It’s a way to monetise invoices that are due in 30, 60, or even 90 days.

Types of Invoice Finance:

Invoice Factoring: The business sells its invoices to a finance company, which advances a significant portion of the invoice value (up to 90%) immediately. The finance company also manages the sales ledger and collects payments from customers.
Invoice Discounting: The business retains control over its sales ledger and continues to manage customer payments. The finance provider advances a percentage of the value of the outstanding invoices, similar to invoice factoring, but without taking over the collection process. The business can borrow money against unpaid invoices without customers knowing about the financing arrangement. It provides the benefits of improved cash flow on a confidential basis.
Selective Invoice Financing: This allows a business to choose specific invoices or accounts to finance, rather than the entire sales ledger. It’s suitable for managing cash flow without the commitment of financing the entire book of receivables.

Process:

Sales Invoice Created: After providing goods or services, the business issues an invoice to the customer.
Invoice Assignment: The business assigns the invoice to a finance provider under a debt purchase agreement. The provider advances a portion of the invoice’s value to the business.
Funds Advanced: Customer Payment: Depending on the type of invoice finance, either the business or the finance company collects the payment from the customer.
Balance Settled: Once the customer pays, the business receives the remaining balance, minus any fees or charges.

Eligibility: Need to be homeowner if in the construction sector to get funding. Funding based on clients’ credit worthiness.

Invoice finance can be a valuable tool for businesses facing cash flow challenges due to delayed payments, helping them to pay employees, suppliers, and invest in growth opportunities. Up to 90% of unpaid invoices can be released.

It’s important for businesses to understand the terms and costs associated with invoice finance to determine if it’s the right solution for their needs.

Benefits:

Improved Cash Flow: Businesses can improve cash flow and reinvest in operations and growth sooner than waiting for customers to pay balances in full.

Flexibility: Companies can choose the invoices they want to finance, offering flexibility in managing cash flow.

Cost: Businesses pay a percentage of the invoice amount to the lender as a fee for borrowing the money. Plus, a fee to manage the sale ledger and collections if this option is taken.

Asset finance is a form of lending that allows businesses to use their company’s assets as collateral to secure a loan or to borrow money. Funds can potentially be funded against soft and hard assets. There are 2 funding options – Finance lease (renting the asset) and Hire Purchase (eventual purchase of asset).

Definition:

Hard assets are physical assets that are durable in nature. They provide a strong security for lenders because they tend to retain value over many years. Examples include vehicles, machinery, plant equipment and buildings and warehousing plus many more.

Soft assets, on the other hand, are assets that are less durable in nature. They typically do not provide as much security as hard assets. Examples include computer hardware or software, office furniture, electronics, telecoms, epos equipment and audio/visual equipment plus many more.

In summary, hard assets are tangible and durable, while soft assets are less durable and may not retain value as well. When seeking asset finance, lenders often prefer hard assets due to their stability and long-term value, but there are specialist lenders that deal with soft asset finance.

Business loans are a form of financing that provides businesses with the capital they need to cover various expenses related to their operations and growth, basically any business lending need can be assessed for funding.

Uses: Business loans have many uses and can be used for example: for working capital, equipment purchases, property acquisition, and other operational costs. They are essential for businesses looking to start, expand, or manage cash flow gaps.

Types:

Secured Loans: Require collateral, such as property or equipment, which the lender can claim if the loan is not repaid.

Unsecured Loans: Do not require collateral but may have higher interest rates due to the increased risk to the lender.

Short-Term Loans: Typically, last for 2 months to 2 years and are used for immediate financial needs.

Eligibility: To qualify for a business loan, companies may need to meet certain criteria, such as a minimum annual turnover, a solid business plan, and a good credit history. Lenders may also consider the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. Unsecured loans will focus on the client’s credit history and profit using EBITDA.

*Non homeowner and new start business not likely to get funding*

Property Finance

Bridging Loans
Property Development & Refurbishment Finance
Commercial & Business Mortgages
Buy-to-Let Mortgages

Commercial and residential bridging finance is a form of short-term finance that shares similarities with a mortgage but is available within a much faster time-frame and for a shorter term. Usually arranged for up to 12 months (although some lenders may offer longer terms). There are 4 types: 1. Standard 2. Refurbish 3. Regulated Bridge 4. Development exit bridge. Can be used with various property types such as: offices, pubs, hotels, retail units, but more likely to be residential properties like, housing, large HMO’s and mixed-use properties and there are many more examples. Valuation is based on vacant possession, rather than market value. A clear exit strategy is always needed by a lender.

Interest Only: They are interest-only loans, where interest is usually rolled into the loan and repaid at the end of the term or sooner if the loan is repaid early.

No Monthly Payments: Unlike traditional mortgages, there are usually no monthly payments during the loan term.

Purpose: Commercial bridging loans are secured against commercial property (which includes residential property types) They serve various purposes, including:

Quick Funding: When funds are needed urgently, such as for property purchases at auction or other time-sensitive situations.
Property Refurbishment: To finance refurbishment works on a property.
Un-mortgageable property: e.g. Unhabitable, no kitchen or bathroom, structural issues, non-standard construction etc.

Property development finance is a type of business finance specifically used to fund the development of residential, commercial, or mixed-use properties and land. Mostly ground up projects and can be high in value.

Purpose: It’s used for short term funding for significant ground up developments.

Types of Projects: It can be utilised for ground-up developments (building a property from scratch), renovations, conversions (like turning a house into flats), and even for purchasing land.

Eligibility and Application: Criteria can vary widely among lenders. Some may require a detailed business plan, while others focus more on credit scores. It’s important for a lender to see a clear exit plan, with an ability to gain refinance after the development as is normally needed.

2 essential areas are:

Experience of applicant. If lacking in experience funding will be more limited, more expensive and caveats made by lenders to reduce risk e.g., seek services of a Project Manager, Quantity Assessor etc.
Lender funding calculations – Loan to Cost maximum loaned 60% to 90% and Loan to GDV (end value) maximum loaned 70%, showing ability to refinance as an exit as a deposit will be needed for a Commercial Mortgage, hence why GDV is 70% leaving 30% for a deposit on the refinance.

A commercial mortgage is a type of long-term loan that is secured by commercial property, which can include office buildings, shopping centers, industrial warehouses etc. Portfolio Buy to Lets are Commercial Mortgages.

How It Works: Like residential mortgages, the lender advances money to purchase a property. You’ll pay back the loan over time and must keep up with repayments to avoid defaulting.

Types:

Owner-occupier mortgages: Used to buy property that will be used as trading premises for your business.
Commercial investment mortgages: Used for property you’re planning to let out.

* Owner-occupier show trading affordability based on accounts. Investment property based on lease agreement.

Interest Rates: Commercial mortgages usually come with a variable rate of interest, which means what you pay fluctuates with a benchmark like the Bank of England’s base rate or your lender’s standard variable rate.

Key Features:

Loan-to-Value (LTV): You can typically find a 70-75% mortgage, which is a measure of how much you’re borrowing in relation to how much the property is worth.

Benefits:

The interest on your commercial mortgage is tax-deductible.
If your property increases in value, your capital could also increase.
You can rent out the property to generate extra income.

Considerations:

Loan dependent on profit of business if Owner-occupier (using EBITDA), or rental income if an Investment property. A larger deposit is usually required, typically around 25%.
Interest rates are generally higher compared to regular home mortgages because they’re considered higher-risk

A Buy to Let (BTL) mortgage is a loan for purchasing a property that the borrower intends to rent out rather than live in, such as: HMO’s, multi-unit, single unit, and holiday lets. If a client didn’t buy the property to let or family members are going to live there, then this may be classed as a Regulated Buy to Let and will need a CeMap qualified advisor to deal with this. You can refer these deals into the office and still earn a referral fee. Be aware some lenders treat all Buy to Lets as a regulated product and will expect a regulated advisor to deal with these.

Key Features:

Interest Rates: Typically, higher than those for personal residential mortgages.

Deposit: Usually requires a minimum of 25% of the property’s value.

Interest-Only Mortgages: Most BTL mortgages are interest-only, meaning monthly payments cover only the interest, not the principal amount. The full loan amount is usually repaid at the end of the mortgage term through selling the property or remortgaging. Be aware a stress test will be applied to confirm affordability based on an industry standard formular e.g. for every £100,000 of funding multiply by 5.5% (est. interest) multiplied by 125% (income Tax) = £573 monthly rent needs to be achieved to satisfy the lender. Higher taxpayers will use 145% or 160%, this will mean they need to achieve higher rental than a basic taxpayer. Remember each lender may adopt their own stress test which may differ from the example.

Repayment Mortgages: Less common, where both the capital and interest are paid back in monthly instalments.

Eligibility:

Income: A minimum annual income may be required, often the lender will want to see that the rental income is not being relied upon to live on.

Credit Record: A good credit history is typically necessary.

Age: There may be an upper age limit, often around 75 years.

Loan to Value (LTV): The LTV ratio limit is usually at least 75%, meaning a minimum 25% deposit is needed.

Rental Coverage: The rental income should ideally cover 125% of the mortgage repayments.

Regulation: Most BTL mortgage lending is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), except for consumer BTL mortgages. Some lenders require a regulated qualified advisor to complete the deal. Please ensure your deal falls within the non-consumer category, otherwise seek advice from the Broker Plan team.

It’s important to plan for times when there might be no rent coming in and not to rely solely on selling the property to repay the mortgage. Additionally, BTL properties are subject to tax considerations, and it’s advisable to understand these fully by seeking advice from a specialist tax advisor.