Our belated year start meeting

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Our overdue year start meeting commenced on the 17th of this month. It was held at the Crowne Plaza in Marlow, and we were given the privilege of a stunning lakeside view.

crowne plaza

We had a combination of physical and virtual attendees, and it was a great opportunity for us to all get together and reflect upon the successes, along with the downfalls of 2021, whilst also looking forward to the rest of 2022 and what lies ahead.

It was enlightening to hear from all branches of the WestWon family tree and their experience with 2021. This outlined their 2021 sales figures, and their longer term visions for 2022.

We are proud to say that we are the minority of leasing companies who actually hold year start meetings. As we believe that year start meetings are fundamental to get our team off to the right start. It is in effect a way to refocus, motivate whilst also allowing time for our team to socialise and in some cases acquaint themselves, especially this year with all our 8 new additions to the team!

2022 motivation

As part of our team motivation objective, we invited former World Champion boxer and motivational speaker, Billy Schwer along, to get our team in the right mindset for the new year. We found him both insightful and inspiring.

billy

After our pep talk from Billy, we made some time for some teambuilding activities, bringing everyone together to refamiliarize.

Later on, we went into Marlow for the evening to give everyone a chance to mingle and celebrate the end of 2021, whilst also welcoming the triumphs of 2022 in. We started off with drinks at the Duke of Clarence, followed by a delicious meal at Côte.

It was an amazing opportunity to recap from 2021. We acknowledge and praise all the team for their efforts, and plan and set out intentions for the year ahead.

WestWon Leasemaster’s transition to Technology Leasing!

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WestWon are proud to announce the transition of WestWon Leasemaster into Technology Leasing! The two companies have joined forces to become one. This is such an exciting opportunity for both companies, and we are very happy for all members of the team. This will combine a worthy range of benefits such as their teams and their client bases. Along with this alliance, they have redesigned their look by introducing a new logo, colour scheme, and overall look and feel of the website. This new website can be found here. This new alliance will be an extremely exciting thing for all those involved.

Background of WestWon Leasemaster and Technology Leasing

WestWon Leasemaster has been under the leadership of Steve Holdstock and his team since 2016. Since then, they have managed to grow their relationships with clients to be bigger than it ever has been. Steve himself has over 30 years experience in sales and leasing. As well as this, he has an expert base of knowledge that allows him to work so well with clients. Through these years of experience, he has been able to provide expert advice in all sectors of leasing whenever needed.

Technology Leasing has been around since 1989 when Brian Burns founded the business. In 2020, Brian officially retired from the company and passed over the reins to Kevin Green. Kevin has successfully guided Technology Leasing through the last 2 years. This is due to him working for most of his life in the leasing and finance sector. He previously worked for a number of large companies such as GE Capital, Apple Financial Services and Dell Financial Services.

In combining these two well respected and highly knowledgeable key people, along with a highly experienced and professional team behind them, we know that Technology Leasing will become a strong contender in the leasing sector.

Steve Holdstock, now the Managing Director of Technology Leasing says “Our name now reflects where our market is and what we can offer to that market. This is a simple yet exciting step forward which opens up a future for the company that we have not seen before. I am thrilled to be working alongside Kevin and our team, and cannot wait for Technology Leasing to grow into a formidable player in the sector.”

WestWon’s involvement

Our relationship with WestWon Leasemaster still remains extremely strong, and where we need to collaborate with them we will. We wish them all the best luck, and cannot wait to see what they achieve in the future.

Contact Us

If you would like to find out more about this transition for WestWon Leasemaster into Technology Leasing then feel free to visit their new website. If you would like any information on what financial services we can offer you here at WestWon then please call us on 01494 611 456. Alternatively you can email us on [email protected].

The Customer Benefits of Leasing

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Leasing Equipment vs Buying – Customer Benefits

Ever considered the customer benefits of leasing? Here’s why it could be better for your business to lease the equipment rather than buy it. Below are 8 key benefits why your business should consider leasing when making your next purchasing decision.

1. Preserve cash flow

This is the key benefit to why most companies lease. You keep your cash or bank overdraft facility for the working capital requirements of your business.

2. Pay for the equipment as you use it

Would you give a new employee three years salary in advance, probably not. Therefore, why would you pay for their laptop, mobile phone, desk or car upfront.

3. No need to pay the VAT up front

With a lease rental agreement, you pay the VAT when the rental is due. There is no need to pay all the VAT upfront. (With lease purchase / HP lease agreements, all the VAT is paid up front).

4. A new source of funding

Leasing companies are often a new source of funding for a company. You do not have to use existing finance contacts.

5. Tax benefits

Many leasing companies will tell you there are tax advantages as all the rental repayments are allowable against tax. With the new £1m AIA limit coming into effect in January 2019, for the vast majority of SME companies, there are no real tax benefits to a lease rental agreement. Lease purchase agreements may be a better option.

6. The benefit of easier budgeting

Paying a monthly rental makes budgeting an easy process. The rental will cover the cost of the interest and the asset depreciation.

7. Using a revenue budget as opposed to a capital budget

Larger companies often have strict capital and revenue budgets. Rental repayments come under a revenue budget, hence no need to get capital budget approval.

8. Avoids obsolescence

With equipment leasing, the rental term is normally the same as the equipment life. Many companies will lease equipment then just upgrade it at the end of the lease term.

Contact Us

If you would like any more information on the customer benefits of leasing and what we can provide finance for here at WestWon, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Either give us a call on 01494 611 456 or alternatively email us on [email protected]. You can also see more over on our LinkedIn page.

The Recovery Loan Scheme- what are the changes?

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What is the Recovery Loan Scheme?

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) essentially provides financial support to UK businesses as they recover after being impacted by the pandemic, and now has some new changes. The scheme came into force on the 6th of April 2021, and was meant to run until the 31st of December 2021. This has now been extended, which will be mentioned later on in the blog as one of the major changes of the scheme. It was expected to be extended when it was first launched. The funding itself is used for allowing businesses to access loans or other types of finance.

There is a limit of £10 million available per business. However, the amount that is actually offered depends on the terms which are provided at the hands of the discretion of all participating lenders. As it’s a government scheme, the government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender. However as the borrower, you will be 100% liable for the debt.

Are you eligible?

Only UK businesses (those who are trading in the UK) are eligible to apply for the Recovery Loan Scheme. There are some criteria laid out by the government website which include needing to show:

  1. your business would be possible and feasible if it wasn’t for the pandemic and it’s impacts
  2. that your business has been badly negatively impacted by the pandemic
  3. your business is not involved in collective insolvency proceedings

What are the changes from the 1st of January 2022?

The main change that came into force was that the scheme will be extended until the 30th of June 2022. This was announced in the Autumn 2021 budget.

There was also a handful of other changes as seen below:

  • The scheme will only be open to SME’s
  • The maximum amount of finance available is lowered from £10 million to £2 million per business
  • The guarantee coverage provided to lenders will be reduced to 70%

All these changes to the Recovery Loan Scheme will apply from the 1st of January 2022.

Contact Us

If you would like any more information on what we can offer you and your business here at WestWon, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Either give us a call on 01494 611 456 or alternatively email us on [email protected]. You can also visit our contact page for additional ways to find or contact us.

WestWon Furniture becomes Fit Out Finance!

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WestWon are proud to announce that WestWon’s Furniture division has become Fit Out Finance!

Fit Out Finance is a new UK based business focusing solely on fit outs within the leasing sector. As the furniture and fit out sector is such a large part of leasing, we thought it was only right for there to be a separate division and company in order to give our undivided attention to the amount of business there is.

Introducing Fit Out Finance

Fit Out Finance is one of the first leasing and finance companies in the UK focusing purely on the fitout sector.

Having extensive knowledge in the sector and combining that with the friendly and professional team. We are confident that they will provide an excellent service for you and your business.

Their main focus is in the office refurbishments sector. However, they also provide finance for any business in the restaurant, warehouse and retail sector. Nonetheless, with their broad knowledge, they can provide finance for most businesses in a range of different sectors. Here at Fit Out Finance, we can help you finance your fit out project from a seeding idea all the way through to successful completion and handover.

How are we related?

Fit Out Finance is a trading name of WestWon Limited. We know this will be a positive change and we are excited to expand further into the furniture and fit out sector under the name Fit Out Finance!

The sales team

One of the business development managers, Tracey, has worked in the asset finance and leasing sector for more than a decade. She is a specialist in the sector and joined WestWon in 2016. Since then,  she has dealt with a number of reputable UK fit out companies as well as hundreds of businesses financing their furniture and fit out projects.

On the other hand, business development manager Freya is fairly new to the industry. She joined WestWon in 2021 before moving over to Fit Out Finance at the start of this year. However, despite being new to the industry, she has already built strong relationships with many UK fit out companies. And we can assure you that she would be happy to help you with whatever business project you may need support with.

Why fix on Fit Out Finance?

Here is just a handful of the perks:

  • Fit Out Finance can give you a decision within 24 hours.
  • Industry leading rates starting from 2.5%.
  • With a 95% acceptance rate, they are more likely to take you in under their wing even if others have refused you.
  • They will deliver your fit out requirement with a 5* customer service.
  • They will administer you with a dedicated account manager, who will be able to provide you with a fast, professional and excellent service.

What does this mean for existing furniture and fit out customers of ours?

Most of you will probably be more familiar with WestWon. And don’t worry, with the launch of Fit Out Finance we will continue to provide you with a matched high level of professional and outstanding customer service. The only difference being our brand is now tailored to your furniture and fit out needs. In sum, besides the rebranding, there is no decisive change that will impact your relationship with us. We know this will be a positive change and we cannot wait to expand further into the furniture and fit out sector under Fit Out Finance!

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01494 611 456

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