FIN(4)FW053
Finance Wales Inquiry
Response from Charterhouse
I have been
invited to comment on the Access To Finance Review on the basis of
our experience of obtaining funding from Finance Wales for a recent
business initiative.
While the interest rates charged were far higher than those on
offer from commercial banks, the willingness of Finance Wales to be
flexible and pragmatic in dealing with our very specific business
issues, mean’t that it was the only viable option for us to
obtain finance without the need to offer onerous levels of
security.
Despite the rhetoric of the major commercial banks about lending to
SMEs, [which from our experience they are not] it is clear that
Finance Wales was the only organisation in the market willing to
consider lending on terms that were acceptable to us.
If finance from FW had not been available, it is unlikely that we
would have proceeded with our initiative and this would have
constrained our ability to grow our business in a sustainable
manner.
I trust that these observations will be helpful, but please do not
hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss matters in more
detail.
Your faithfully
Martin Sullivan | Managing Director
Charterhouse