Business Mastermind PodcastScott Marshall: How to Raise Finance in an Uncertain Economic & Political Environment
‘I saw a real opportunity to back good people on good projects’
In this episode, Gavin is talking to Scott Marshall founder of Roma Finance, a specialist bridging lender.
Scott discusses his own business journey and the ways in which his company is involved in the journeys of other entrepreneurs.
In this powerful conversation about finance, cash, availability of credit and how to be successful in raising finance they share practical advice on how to approach the lender and what you can do to ensure you secure the right deal for your business to expand.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
The journey of Roma finance
- I saw a real opportunity to back good people on good projects, I took equity out of my own home to do the first loan.
- Today we have 30 members of staff and are just shy of being a 50 million pound business.
- We lend people money who are using our money to make money.
- The vast majority of people are using our money to make money out of property.
- Whether its land for development, a terraced house conversion to HMO or a dilapidated house for renovation, the projects we get involved in are the ones where our customers are on a journey themselves.
- When you are lending money you are backing an individual to do something properly.
- We are backing an individual to make it a success.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to raise finance to expand?
- Cash is everything in a business and you should always overestimate the amount of cash you need for running a business.
- Forward forecasting cash is vital to identify potential pinch points, you can guarantee the cash forecast will be wrong, but you will be better prepared than if you have not produced the forecast at all.
- An applicant applying for finance should carry out due diligence on the lender they want to use.
- We underwrite a deal based on the; borrower, story, asset and exit.
- If the borrower and the story stack up it may be the asset is the challenge and our loan will help them resolve this and exit.
- A bad borrower can destroy value in a good asset, a good borrower can create value in a bad asset.
- Look at your business from a helicopter view and ask where am I going to take it?
- Delegate, but understand this is not abdication, identify those jobs you do that don’t add value and bring in someone else to do them.
- Don’t allow the people in your business to delegate up, just because you know all the answers doesn’t mean you have to give all the answers. You must empower the people in your business to grow and develop.
- Enjoyment, passion, integrity, professionalism and teamwork are vital attributes for any employee and form the basis for an effective approach to recruitment.
- Work has to be an environment where your employees thrive.
BEST MOMENTS
‘Plan for disaster and aim for growth’
‘You’ve got to do due diligence on them in the same way they do due diligence on you’
‘We meet every one of our customers face to face’
‘If you get the lend right it’s the individual who performs’
‘They are making money for themselves and we back them on their journey’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
The Business Mastermind Podcast
Tel: 0161 817 7480
ABOUT THE HOST
Gavin Preston
Gavin is an inspirational Speaker, Business Strategist, Business Growth Mentor, Trainer and high-performance Coach. He works with Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and has a strong track record in creating creative strategies to accelerate the growth of their business. He has helped hundreds of SME business owners and leaders improve their performance and that of their business and a comparable number of executives and employees in blue-chip corporates over the last 20 years.
Gavin’s energetic, insightful and yet down to earth and practical talks, workshops and coaching is in demand with high growth business between £250,000 and £30 million revenue and with multi-national organisations at all levels from Board to frontline Managers. He is an expert in Business Growth Strategies, Peak Performance Mindset, Persuasion & Engagement, Marketing, Productivity, Leadership Development, Team Development & Motivation, Leading Change, Stakeholder Management, Personal Effectiveness and Behavioural Change.
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