Business loan after Bankruptcy

splodge78

Hi there, Not sure if i am on the right thread but here goes.

I have a fantastic business idea which i have spent the last year researching, market testing and creating a business plan and finaincial projections for having also completed a 'Proof of Concept' course with Nottingham Trent Uni to prove it's viability.

Here comes the catch - A year ago i was unfortunate enough to become one of the many public house owners who ploughed all my inheritance into 2 pubs which after working every hour God sent and working closely with my accountant had to succum to the reccession and the fate of the pub industry. Subsequently I had to file for bankruptcy for outstanding bills the pubs owed.

To get this new venture up and running I will be incorporating the business once discharged and will need to apply for a business loan to allow me to launch and trade.

My question is this - Are the banks going to lend me any money given my recent bankruptcy and will it make a difference if they are lending to a limited company not me personally?

Also, does anyone know if this will affect a possible injection by a business angel on a equity share basis?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Splodge

ILW

Virtually nio chance from a bank.

But if you have a "business angel" that will fund the venture then they can do what they like with their own money.

paddyrg

What you need is a partner, not a loan. Even if the bank lent the company money, that money would be secured on *your* assets...

Talk to NTU about partnering, or if they can help you find a partner? They may have an innovation development centre (or something like that) which can help you. How much do you need for starters?

jonesMUFCforever

Sorry but with bankruptcy you stand no chance whatsoever of getting a loan whether you will be a sole trader or a company director of a limite company.

PNPSUKNET

Even with ltd they want 3 years accounts, or personal guarantee

paddyrg

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/business_professions/news_events/ingenuity_programme/index.html

This is the kind of thing I mean - may help you get seed capital

splodge78

Thank you for your replies, thought the chances would be pretty slim.

PADDYRG - Thank you for your practical response. I am looking for quite a large injection of around £150,000 and ideally this would be from an equity partner who would come on board and be part of the business to help in areas i am weak but I am thinking I might have to go down another route of grants, loans and asking the bank to help me match fund any investment offer.......big challenge but the business is worth it. With a potential market of over 4.2 million in the UK alone (Potential to go global very quickly) it is a high growth concept with exceptional return. Just need the funds and a break from an investor/bank to get it up and running.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

paddyrg

Sounds very exciting! Obviously we all wish you all the very best with it!! And the limited help I can provide, I'm happy to provide (mostly around IT strategic planning/architecture and anything related to film/video/entertainment, fwiw).

Do you need the full sum in a single tranche? Or can you get by with £10k now and the rest in 4 lumps over a year? It is a huge ask from cold, but is successively better the longer you can trade without it. Can the business be copied? If it is really such a rich vein, you can bet copycats will get in fast (a good argument for a big bang launch) so it may be better to protect what you can, and take a friendly lawyer (give them equity) with you to meet big companies in similar sectors - the guys who can scale out from day 1. Make them parttners as opposed to competitors, do a licensing deal on the IP, don't get involved in the (tedious, expensive) detail.

Any business angel funding will be based around a 3-year turnaround - typically wanting to double their money in 3 years and sell, so will not be looking for long term growth partnerships. FWIW :-)

splodge78

Looking at the cashflow forecast i could possibly manage with a 10k start and 4 subsequent payments as i could ask for terms on marketing ie TV and radio. It is an internet based concept so very little overheads or stock required.
It's just getting the initial 10k and the experienced input from the investor.
I agree with the idea of getting a laywer on board as a stake holder as this will surely boad well.......
I shall keep looking!!!

paddyrg

Great - now you're able to look for £10k as opposed to £150k - that will be WAAAAAYYYYYY easier. Not easy, but easier!

Now what I'll challenge is what the £10k is for for a web-based business? Are you looking at a custom development project, or can something naerly right be hacked together using off-the-shelf with a few tweaks? Do you have experience of scaling web sites? Can you use a PAYG CDN to reduce start-up costs? For instance with AWS Cloudfront you can pay per-GB but have high speed low-latency delivery anywhere in the world for streaming video, for instance.

splodge78

All options i guess but i know i can't just pick it off the shelf. Already looked into that. It will have to be a custom development project. The 10k will help with all the legal fees and a 1st payment on the 1st phase of the site. then we are into the big bucks to launch! I am afraid i am not techie at all but have required industry knowledge in my field to take this to market.
It is great challenge but one that is proving quite trying at times! This AWS Cloudfront sounds interesting!