Wondering where to start?

When it comes to business owners arranging their own finance, our experience has been that they:

• Don’t have time to research all suitable commercial lenders in the market
• Are busy with running their business and the prospective transaction
• Accept whatever finance package is offered so they can get on with the transaction
• Are unaware of the key credit terms and what may be negotiated with a lender

The result has been that many businesses:

• Fail to obtain finance or enough finance
• Accept financing terms that are less favourable than could have been negotiated
• Place their business and family under considerable cash flow stress
• Have little to no negotiating power through lack of market knowledge and choice

Get financing that fits.

With our in-depth understanding of the Financial Planning finance market and experience with transactions and business lending, we can assist practices and business owners in securing financing that’s right for you.

• We can save you time
• We can save you money
• We can structure the loan to better suit your business and the financing requirements
• We can identify the right lender to source the most competitive and suitable solution to meet your needs
• We can work with your existing lender when refinancing or sourcing more debt

Over the years Centurion has advised on many sale and purchase transactions in the financial planning and accounting sectors that were bank financed. In our experience, there has been a significant variance in the lending criteria of the banks and financing arrangements that business owners have accepted. These have included:

• Repayment terms – interest only periods / amortisation schedule
• Maximum loan amount and loan term
• Lending structure and tax effectiveness – borrowing entity and deductible versus non-deductible debt
• Loan security arrangements – including/excluding security over residential and commercial property
• Lender’s loan review process and covenants – regular reporting of financial performance and minimum on-going profitability and cash flow levels (eg. interest cover ratio)
• Pricing methodology

Borrowing for an acquisition or business succession is a commercial lending transaction. The lenders in the marketplace have differing terms and conditions and will seek to optimise their risk and return on the lending transaction.

We can help you navigate these issues to arrive at the best outcome.