All borrowers have a relationship manager: this means Growth Street can assess our borrowers formally and informally, on an ongoing basis. Key business metrics are continuously reviewed and verified. Growth Street only processes drawdown requests if, using the latest data available, we can see that the borrower is complying with the conditions set out in their GrowthLine agreement.
By building relationships with our borrowers and closely monitoring their performance, we try to spot any early warning signs of upcoming bumps in the road. We pride ourselves on being a source of knowledge and expertise for our borrowers, not just a finance provider, so wherever possible we will work with our customers to develop, grow and trade through any peaks and troughs.
Below we’ve provided two case studies, which describe real-life examples of our monitoring process in action.
Case study A
Company A, a digital agency with a range of blue-chip clients, agreed a £30,000 line of credit with Growth Street. Before finalising the agreement, Growth Street had analysed Company A’s balance sheet and historical financial data in depth, as well as having multiple conversations with the company’s directors.
After a time, Company A’s two directors agreed to part ways, with the departing director taking a chunk of Company A’s clients with him. The firm’s remaining director then had to maintain payroll while taking part in several long, expensive tender processes. He applied to increase his facility limit by £20,000 to help him bridge the gap. Regular assessments of Company A’s financial data meant that Growth Street could see that Company A didn’t have enough incoming payments from clients to be able to afford an increase so unfortunately, their application was rejected.
After exploring all available avenues together, Growth Street and Company A then agreed to put Company A’s original £30,000 loan into default. Instead of drawing from the Loan Loss Provision, Growth Street called on the personal guarantee from Company A’s director and he was able to repay the outstanding amount in full. The business is still trading today, and Growth Street’s Loan Loss Provision was unaffected.
Case study B
Company B focuses on catering, predominantly working in the public sector. Company B’s work is seasonal, making it harder to project costs and ensure stable working capital throughout the year. Their initial credit limit was set at £100,000. Over time, strong performance led to Company B taking on more and more new business, which led to increased hiring costs.
Securing several new contracts meant that Growth Street extended Company B’s limit several times: to £150,000, then £175,000, and finally up to £200,000. Throughout the process, Growth Street have used Company B’s cloud accounting software to monitor their financial information in real-time. Growth Street’s relationship managers also regularly check in with Company B’s finance director to make sure the business continues to perform as expected.
Company B is still a great Growth Street customer and continues to grow with your help.