Is Your Business Running Out of Road?
Before you see an Insolvency Practitioner, or sign anything, make one call. We believe 40 to 60% of companies that go insolvent could have avoided it. With the right advice, at the right time.
Book a Free 15-Minute Call with MarkNo upfront fees. Ever. I deliver finance and not promises. If I do not deliver, there is no fee due.
Mark Smillie
I have been arranging finance for businesses in distress since 1989. I have sat with directors who thought it was already over, and in most cases, it was not.
I am not an Insolvency Practitioner. I am on your side. My job is to find you a way through before you are forced to hand the keys to someone whose fee depends on dismantling what you have built.
The call is free. The advice is straight. And if I cannot help, I will tell you that quickly too.
Hear It From Mark Directly
You Already Know Something Is Seriously Wrong
There was a time when you could sit down with your bank manager, someone who knew your business, understood your sector, and could make a decision. Those days are gone. Now it is algorithms, committees, and a computer that has never met you deciding your fate.
The bank has said no, or gone quiet, or started making noises you do not like. You are not sure who to trust or where to turn. Read through these. Call us if any of them apply.
If any of that applies, please call me today. Not next week. The window closes faster than you think.
When a bank or finance company mentions Reporting Accountants or suggests you seek professional advice, they are very seriously considering withdrawing their support. Once that process starts, the company can enter an insolvency process rapidly. I have been doing this since 1989. The earlier you call, the more options I have.
Take Independent Advice First. Before You See Anyone Else.
This is the most important thing on this page. A Licensed Insolvency Practitioner is duty-bound to act in the best interests of your creditors. Not you. Not your family. Not your staff. The creditors. In many instances, that is simply not the best advice for the Company Director.
And be very wary if your bank or finance company suggests a specific IP. That referral is rarely random.
Once you mention something to an IP, you cannot ask them to forget it
That friendly first consultation is a forensic exercise. They are mapping your assets, your house, your savings, your Director's Loan Account, your personal guarantees, so they know exactly what they can pursue once appointed.
At that point, you stop being their client. You become the subject of their investigation.
I have seen, on far too many occasions, Company Directors having to repay vast amounts of money personally because they were not advised correctly before that first meeting.
Make sure there are no issues with Wrongful Trading and Director's Disqualification before you walk in. Make sure you understand your Director's Loan Account position. Make sure you know what a Preference means and whether any payments you have made could be challenged. I will tell you all of this. For free. Before you see anyone else.
And if you are considering a pre-pack, buying back the assets of your business after insolvency, please take advice before you go anywhere near an IP about it. The IP's job is to get the highest price in the shortest time. That is the opposite of what you need. I represent you, not them. I can structure it better, fund it properly, and make sure you do not saddle your new business with debt that should never have been there.
Would you buy a business from a seller and let the seller set the price and terms? That is what happens when directors go into a pre-pack without independent advice.
Take a Second Opinion. It Costs You Nothing.
15 to 30 minutes with Mark. Completely confidential. He will tell you quickly whether you are in the right place and what your real options are. In 80% of cases, he can add significant value.
When Your Bank Says No, I Can Say Yes
There was a time when the bank manager knew your business. Now a computer decides, based on your sector, your postcode, and a credit score. If it says no, that used to be the end of it. It is not anymore.
Mainstream banks reject 70% of direct applications. Working through a specialist broker, that figure flips. My personal acceptance rate is 84%.
And yes, I have helped clients who were told no by their bank or traditional lenders. I have seen directors face sleepless nights, fearing job losses, personal financial ruin, and public embarrassment. But with the right advice, and fast access to finance, I have helped keep businesses alive, preserve staff jobs, protect directors from personal guarantees, and in many cases, made things stronger than before.
Such is my confidence in delivering: I arrange emergency finance without any upfront fees. I deliver. I get paid. It is that simple.
I Am Not Here to Judge How You Got Here
I know what this feels like. The sleepless nights. The calls you are not returning. The fear of what happens to your staff, your family, your home.
Business difficulty is not a moral failing. Directors who come to me are not failures. They are people who ran into problems that the mainstream financial world was not set up to solve. That is what I am here for.
I have spoken to directors on Sunday evenings who thought it was already over. In most cases, it was not. But they needed someone with the right contacts to move fast.
With the right advice at the right time, I have helped directors:
We constantly find out from clients and fellow professionals who really delivers and who does not. What the salesperson says and what actually happens are often very different things. I have been in this industry long enough to know the difference, and to know which lenders, which IPs, and which advisers will actually fight for you.
You can put an end to this stressful situation and start sleeping again. But you have to pick up the phone first. Everything is treated in the strictest confidence. The call is free. And in 80% of cases, I can add value you did not know was there.
What Clients Say
Mark Smillie is different. He is the ONLY finance broker I have ever met where I felt he was genuinely thinking about us. I did not have to filter what I was being told, so as not to be manipulated into what suited the broker or lender best.
Mark came up trumps and delivered a finance package in very challenging circumstances. He is definitely the go-to person. It is easy to think his success stories are too good to be true, but I now know from experience that he does exactly what he says.
Mark totally exceeded my expectations. He was amazingly responsive, gave great advice without judgement, and was very honest about my position and how he could help. I felt supported every step of the way.
Pick Up the Phone. Start Putting Your Mind at Rest.
0800 612 5364Out of hours? Call Mark directly on 07710 466166