It is difficult to predict how the traditional asset finance market will fare for the rest of this year, let alone next year and beyond.

What we have found, and this will be echoed by all our colleagues up and down the country, is that each and every deal needs to meet exacting standards of presentation and information.

We, at Associated Commercial Finance Limited, of Cheltenham, recognise that never before have the funders been so crucially important to our very survival, and this means working to resolve collections issues and managing returns for all parties whilst delivering competitive packages to customers and suppliers alike.

Our ‘general’ exposure to a range of markets and including a limited amount of sales aid finance, clearly shows reduced volumes, however, asset finance brokers can react in a number of ways during a downturn.

We have seen the way the industry is going, and took the opportunity to make strategic decisions for the future; one of these was to install and train all personnel in the Broka-net online proposal system, which we see as a mandatory requirement some time in the future. It has provided excellent management information and consistency in proposal standards and format. Some of us found this more challenging than others!

Secondly, given the general employment situation in the finance sector, we are at various stages of talks with new ‘associates’, making the life-changing decision to go it alone, and we have put time and resource into making this step as easy and rewarding as possible.

We also took the decision to look at markets that had been largely overlooked by both competitors and finance companies alike, and this niche approach has paid dividends.

Life may have changed forever in the finance sector, we firmly believe that a proactive approach gives a business an ‘edge’ during testing times.

Contributed by Angus Griffin, Director – Associated Commercial Finance

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The views contained in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commercial Finance People