A lot of people seem to think that the Government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme is dead. It isn’t.

Working on an acquisition for a client we were looking for the best deal, as always.

Despite a lot of bad press about the banks we have been able to secure the support of a high street bank under the Government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme whereby the bank is only liable for 25% in the event of default.

It’s a relatively small transaction but still requires a comprehensive and extremely robust business plan, three years financial forecasts – cashflow, profit & loss and balance sheets – and a plethora of peripheral documents.

It’s a lot of work and the cost to the client is high in percentage terms compared to the loan, but sets the expanded business on the road to further growth and probably more acquisitions as the increased turnover and future profit far outweighing the initial cost.

It just shows, if you know where to look and how to put a good plan together, there is still money available from the traditional sources.

More money by Adam Hawkins http://anodizeproductions.com

So the recession is officially over.

Hooray!

Now for the really hard part – surviving the post-recession downturn that most pundits expected and most firms are now experiencing.

Strong leadership can make a huge difference to success or failure – never more so than today, so here are some things to consider:

1. Understand the big picture in your industry or sector – be sure of the true position.

2. Adjust sales forecasts to accurately reflect the true circumstances. Review every month.

3. Cashflow must be maintained, but it’s catch 22 because that can take resource away from sales and other vital activity. Deploy your people to be effective TODAY.

4. Target cuts carefully – at waste rather than core activity.

5. Keep an eye on the future – don’t act precipitously. Short term cost savings can result in being under-resourced when the upturn comes. Judgement is crucial.

6. Focus on customers – understand and try to help resolve your customer’s problems.

7. Innovate. If cashflow allows don’t stop all R&D. New products and services will help boost turnover and profit when markets improve.

8. Look for opportunities. Asset values are low and research by McKinsey & Company shows that effective acquisitions during a downturn “created significant value”.

9. Motivate. Make certain that you get staff on your side to retain the best and make sure they don’t leave as soon as the jobs market improves.

10. Action. Don’t be paralysed by fear, focus on your USP and take appropriate action.

Anything you’d like to add ? Leave your comments below ….

The Evergreen Project is a study of fifteen years of data from 160 companies, measuring 200 management practices and identifying those that consistently led to an increase in return to shareholders. The startlingly consistent results showed that to be successful, companies must excel in all of the following:

• Strategy
• Execution
• Culture
• Structure

and in any two of these:

• Talent
• Innovation
• Leadership
• Mergers, partnerships and acquisitions.

So do you have the winning combination? For more information on how to excel in the practices most likely to bring you success, just contact me: andrew@mercantile-group.com