The ‘Go-To’ Place for UK SME Financing

By Nick Sellars, Group Managing Director

SME Financing: The Pillars of 4Syte – Invoice Finance, Trade Finance, Construction Finance and Secured Lending

Where do you start when you want to set up a dynamic financing business, when all you have is a blank canvas?

Well, that’s how Magnus Gundersen and I started in early 2016. Of course, whilst the canvas was blank, our minds were full of ideas, with an ambition and desire longing to be fulfilled.

Our vision and foresight were based around our experiences over many years; Magnus as a top investment banking performer and specialist in financial markets fund raising; me as a commercial and international lending banker, turned Managing Director of independent invoice finance businesses.

Setting up a business without outside ‘noise’ has its advantages; the ethics of the business, in terms of morality and customer service and choice of the people within in it, are ours to shape and develop.

The services the business then provides becomes a product of our experience and the team built around us. The expertise of the team at the start of our adventure centred around full blooded, full-service factoring and capital raising to compliment the venture. The longer-term vision was to create a financing business capable of funding the cashflow and working capital of UK SME businesses. This is only possible with a well-capitalised business supported by excellent funding facilities, providing 4Syte with ongoing liquidity which enables SMEs to access finance for their continuing growth.

Typically, we find success with owner managed businesses that don’t want a no-contact, button punching provider, outsourcing its back office or existing in a ‘cloud’, but who want attentive, dedicated and experienced professionals always available on the phone or in person making life easier. We manage client expectation and risk far better by having that close relationship. The ability to be responsive in our decision making is vital to a good long-term relationship, which is what we strive to achieve from every new relationship.

We focus on our core business and we invest in bright people.

Today there are four strands to our business. Our intention is to invest only in complimentary business if we have the expertise to execute that business at the outset. We have attracted the best talent in each of our businesses with the same ethic flowing through all.

We cover invoice finance over all sectors (4Syte Funding) and have added a speciality in funding businesses engaged in the construction sector (4Syte Construction Finance). We can finance the whole trading cycle, provide import finance and purchase order finance when pre-invoice finance is required (4Syte Trade). Currently this service is only available to compliment an invoice finance facility. Finally, we provide short- and medium-term business loans to companies against property security (4Syte Structured Finance).

If you have any questions about any of our services please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also request a call back.