Case Studies
Welcome to our case studies page. Raising capital for our clients is enormously satisfying and we are proud that every year we meet our expectations of the number of completions achieved.
In 2010 more than two thirds of our investment clients were offered funds from investors introduced by us. Over half of these have resulted in completions; to our knowledge these statistics are unmatched in our industry.
In these pages are a selection of case studies and testimonials from our clients.
Over the past 13 years we have covered almost every market sector in the SME community. If you are looking for a funding solution please contact us for a confidential discussion.
Architects & Designers
Our clients are Architects & Designers. They specialise in the administration and organisation of architecture and design modalities for high-end commercial developments.
When Beer & Young were approached the business had an order book running into seven figures, but a serious lack of working capital. The directors had committed significant personal resources but needed further external capital in order to secure enough time to deliver on their order book.
We introduced three investors in short order, one of whom stood head & shoulders above the others, as his core business is involved in our clients sector. In addition to the funding our investor has brought a wealth of experience and depth of respect within this sector.
As is typical with Beer & Young client situations, time was of the essence. Our investor was able to conduct his due diligence in a timely fashion and heads of terms were agreed in a matter of weeks.
We are delighted to confirm that the investment has now completed, enabling our client to move forwards with their plans and achieve their objectives.
Wholesale Distributor
Our client is a privately owned wholesaling distributor selling a variety of branded products to retail. Despite a history of profitable trading (peaking to date at £14 million turnover with £1.5 million pre-tax profits) they were in danger of going under largely due to a single unforeseeable event. This loss of business together with the general effects of the recession and banking crisis left them with no capital with which to trade.
They were nevertheless a very sound business with much potential. We organised two meetings for them in quick order – one with a private equity group and the other with an entrepreneur. Both parties indicated they wanted to fund and buy into the company. (We had three more investors lined up should they have been needed).
We are delighted that these investor offers gave the directors, our client, ‘ammunition’ and options when they confronted the other shareholders.
Below is an unsolicited comment from the Finance Director.
“The funding will see us through our immediate difficulties and will allow us to exploit the opportunities we discussed as part of our review of expected activity in 2011, however, and not wishing to tempt providence, if things do not work out as planned I would hope that you would be willing to assist us again in future if necessary, as both the Managing Director and I were truly impressed with the manner and speed with which you were able to identify and put us together with suitable new investors, and the options this gave us were very much instrumental in focusing our shareholders and prompting them to reinvest, although I realise that this is perhaps not the best financial outcome for Beer & Young”
Product Promotions, Manufacturer & Supplier
Beer & Young were engaged to raise funds for our client, a product promotions company.
Established in 2000, the business achieved continuous growth until the late Noughties, at their high point achieving sales of £5 million whilst delivering excellent returns for the directors/shareholders.
The recession hit our client hard with many blue chip customers reducing their spend, the result of which put our client into a loss making position. Having traded through this period – under some duress – they were unable to fund the numerous new sales opportunities that had arisen as their customer base returned.
Beer & Young generated considerable interest from potential investors. We are delighted to report that after the usual period of due diligence, one investor has injected £400,000 of new money into the company.
This investment has given our client a much needed boost to the working capital position and balance sheet. Their bankers can relax somewhat with over £500,000 of debt still to be serviced. The danger of looming business failure has now gone.
We wish both client and investor well for the future.
Water Services
Our client’s business involves major capital investment by utility companies and the like. The owner had been looking to retire but trading was materially affected by the recession and had built up arrears of VAT and PAYE totaling over £150,000. The business was suffering from severe cash flow difficulties and needed a term ‘Time to Pay’ proposal to be formally agreed in order to give them much needed financial breathing space and avoid formal proceedings.
We worked closely with our client to gain a full understanding of their operating cash flow and in March 2011 HMRC, exceptionally, agreed to repayment of the arrears over a 12 month period.
The client is now trading profitably and looking forward to a better future where the owner can realise his true equity and look forward to a secure retirement.
