The commercial finance market is certainly becoming more buoyant, with lender appetite returning to the sector.
One area where we are seeing particular demand from clients is from business owners who currently rent their business premises. For these clients, their rental payments represent wasted money, and they are likely to have limited flexibility in how they use the premises as landlords may object to alterations of the property.
At the same time, commercial tenants may find they are at the mercy of landlords who want to renegotiate their lease.
If a business has the opportunity to purchase the property from which it operates, it can gain greater control over how the property is used and ongoing costs. In some circumstances, buying may even be a cheaper option than renting. However, the real advantage is that making payments on a commercial mortgage means a business is investing in its own asset, building additional value within the business and providing the owners with additional security.
In the current economic environment, there are a number of commercial landlords thinking about selling their property and this provides a great opportunity for business owners to establish greater control over their premises, if they are able to secure the right finance.
At Brightstar, our specialist commercial team can provide expert guidance for you to help your business owner clients, and our strong relationships with lenders mean we are often able to get deals across the line that might not otherwise be possible.
It’s not just those businesses looking to purchase their premises that we are able to help, either. Many business owners may have traditionally had a relationship with their high street bank, with which they may have previously secured a commercial mortgage to purchase their premises.
As the banks have reduced their teams at local branches, many business owners have lost the support from this point of contact, meaning there’s a good chance they haven’t reviewed their financing for quite some time. We can help these clients to consider their options to refinance, which could enable them to secure a better deal or to release capital, which can be used for a number of purposes, including business investment and even the purchase of further property.
Hisham Elabaire is commercial finance specialist at Brightstar Financial
