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Old 16-06-2008, 08:09
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James Smith James Smith is offline
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On paper that ratio is going to be a tough ask, this is at the max end of their lending ratios. 50:50 is normally fine, 2/3rds takes some doing especially in the current climate.

So how to do it?
Well look prepared. Ie you need a good business plan, and by that I don't mean a 100 page monster, a 4-6 page summary and lots of appendices is normally the way around to do it. Ie short enough to read, heavy enough to show your detailed research. Fundamentally you need to be able to prove that they will get their money back and there is plenty of slack in the plan. Ie you wont be asking for another £20k and a big overdraft in 6-12 months. They will look in particular at your retail experience - ie you need to prove you can run this thing and not flounder for 12 months and go bust. They will also be looking heavily at security - ie they WILL insist on personal guarantees, ie essentially secured on your home. If you have no equity they probably wont lend at this level TBQH.

If you are not great at the numbers think about paying your accountant to come along. Not cheap but they will know more than the bank manager about the numbers and be able to answer awkward questions. I don't work like this, but some local accountants are very close with local bank managers which can help enormously when trying to borrow. its a bit "old school" but it does still happen, especially in market towns etc.

Hope that helps

Regards,
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