Without an ABL Lending And Loan Facility Financing Where Will You Be Tomorrow ? A Canadian Non - Bank Alternative !

Concerned about your ability to achieve business operating financing over the long term - if that’s the case an ABL lending solution might be the alternative to a traditional bank financing facility.

We think the whole issue revolves around the term alternative - and we mean that in two ways. First of all from a pure technical reason ABL ( Asset Based Lending ) is in fact ' alternative financing ' , a term that has become very much in vogue since 2008 -2009 when the Canadian business financing landscape changed dramatically due to the global financial recession.
And secondly, it’s just basically another word for choice and we guarantee you that you need choices in your business financing decisions.
So, can you ignore asset financing and let other firms, including your competitors use ABL as their new choice of operating financing? Of course you can, but if this type of loan or facility (it’s not a loan per se) has the ability to virtually guarantee you access to financing for all future growth we think it’s remiss of you not to consider it. That’s just our humble opinion.

The bottom line is that this type of asset based line of credit financing facility is almost always tailored to your specific needs. It provides you with the flexibility to have a customized arrangement around the borrowing power you can generate via... guess what, Assets!

And what are those assets? Commonly they are receivables, inventories, and in some cases as an add on, fixed assets or real estate. It’s simply the monetization of those assets based on realistic values (often achieved by an appraisal)that gives you al alternative , and by the way, almost always larger ! operating facility .

If as a Canadian business owner or financial manager you're concerned about the future of financing for your firm and you have special needs or situations then ABL is probably the answer to your alternative, which is losing out on growth opportunities or having to look elsewhere for debt or outside equity.

We mention debt because you do have alternatives to ABL lending such as cash flow term loans, sub debt, etc but surely the ability to monetize assets to the maximum and not borrow relative to the balance sheet is appealing?

We've referenced the ability of your firm to secure the future of your financing and growth via an ABL lending and financing facility. Clients who want to make this drastic change to non bank financing always ask a question that could generally be summarized as ' whats in it for us '. The answer is pretty simple, increase cash flow for firms that have assets, both current and fixed, that aren’t being monetized now. Although you might end up reporting more on the monthly values of those assets most clients are happy to know that these reports are no longer tied to covenants and ratios, etc as required by traditional Canadian chartered bank financing. Issues of seasonality in your working capital, or being flexible to take advantage of new opportunities (including acquisitions by the way) make ABL lending a solid ' loan ' financing facility alternative choice.

So whats the bottom line in the future of your operating financing? And where will you be tomorrow in your business financing ? Its simply that you should investigate asset based lending facilities, non bank in nature, as a method of creating long term access to working capital and growth ability . Speak to a trusted, credible, and experienced Canadian business financing advisor for the lowdown on ABL financing.






Stan Prokop - founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial -

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com

Originating business financing for Canadian companies , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing . In business 7 years - has completed in excess of 50 Million $$ of financing for Canadian corporations .Info re: Canadian business financing & contact details :

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/abl_lending_loan_facility_financing_bank.html

Canadian ABL Lending vs. Bank Loans - Which Offers The Best Financing Facility ?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to determine the difference between abl lending in the Canadian marketplace vs. similar business financing loans offered by chartered banks .

A significant amount of confusion exists in the Canadian business financing arena around the definition and use of ABL lending. In the context that we are talking about we're focusing on a comprehensive business financing credit arrangement that provides you with a total borrowing facility based on primarily receivables and inventory, but also equipment and real estate when that comes into play .

There are many subsets of abl lending in Canada. The two dominant factors that play a role in theses subsets are size of facility, and single focus financing, such as receivables only. Additional the overall credit quality of your firm (i.e. good, bad and ugly) ultimately drives what type of facility you choose/obtain.

Can anyone raise their hand and answer why abl loans (by the way they are not loans per se) are deemed by many to be the savior of Canadian business financing. We sure can - its because they have the simply ability to offer financing when traditional bank financing is not available ,and, even to a stronger point, abl loans don’t discriminate when it comes to size of the facility . Generally these facilities range from 250k on the small end to tens of millions of dollars at the high end. Oh, and by the way, many of Canada's largest corporations use this type of financing, unbeknownst to the average follower of Canadian business financing.

So again, whats better for your firm ? We have got nothing against traditional bank operating loans, they have served Canada well for a hundred years, however , they can be restrictive when it comes to size of facility, renewals of your facility on different terms, and , most importantly limiting on what can be financed and for how much .

Quick example based on a real world scenario. Manufacturing company 'A' has a bank financing operating facility that margins their receivables to 75% of total value, and inventory to a cap of, let’s say 750k. However, manufacturing company 'A' is growing quickly, requires additional inventory, and has receivable growth commensurate with sales growth. The challenge in a traditional banking arrangement is that the company is restricted in ability to grow commensurate with their working capital needs .Would banks step in. Maybe, possibly, who knows ?

However, we can almost guarantee this same type of problem or challenge our company 'A' is facing would be met head on in an ABL lending scenario. Why , simply because abl financing is based on assets, so as the firms inventory and receivable investment grows so does the facility, pretty well automatically .

Many Canadian firms that are smaller and medium in size unfortunately don’t qualify for what we call a true pure play ABL, simply based on deal economics , size of facility, and asset categories. Does it end there?

Definitely not, as working capital facilities, mini ABL’’s we could call them, are available that finance a combo of A/R and inventory, accounts receivable only (typically called factoring financing), with potential to add on purchase order financing when that makes sense. Our mini ABL’’s, aka working capital facilities are priced significantly higher that true asset based lines of credit, but offer the same flexibility and access to capital .

So, is there a bottom line? The old saying ' the trend is your friend ' is applicable - more and more firms are investigating abl lending and benchmarking it against bank loans. Do not, we repeat, do not investigate this type of financing if you have all the business credit you need and have no challenges in working capital financing and business growth! If that’s not you, speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor who can help you benchmark abl loans vs. bank financing facility.