Business Services

Business Borrowing

We work with a wide range of client investors, borrowers, specialist lenders and high street banks. We can consider most propositions for business finance and will help find the most flexible and cost effective solution.

Commercial loans and mortgages are underwritten on a case by case basis; every application is unique and evaluated on its own merits. Each lender has different criteria when considering commercial funding.

Downton & Ali Associates introduce commercial borrowing enquiries to a third party and do not arrange the finance.

Asset Finance

Finance is available for the purchase of machinery for your business.

Downtown and Ali Associates introduce commercial borrowing enquiries to a third party and do not arrange the finance.

Auto Enrolment

Pensions reform is now with us and the largest employers have already had to set up a pension for all employees and contribute to it as does the employee.

The reforms are being brought in in stages depending on the number of employees you have and your staging date which is decided by your PAYE reference. You can find out when you staging date is by clicking here and will need your PAYE reference.

Please call Downton and Ali Associates for advice on how this will affect you and what you can do to mitigate these effects but also how you can use these new regulations to your advantage.

Where to next?

Business Protection

Sole Traders

A sole trader is someone who works alone. Sole traders should consider:

Life assurance
Critical Illness cover
Healthcare
Income Protection
Retirement planning

If a sole trader employs key people in their business, then additional consideration should be given to Key Person Protection.

Partnership Protection

Partners in a business have the same requirements as a sole trader, however you should also consider the financial implications to the business and each individual if a partner were to suffer a::

Sickness or injury
Critical illness
Death

On the death of a partner, their share will pass to their estate and technically the partnership will be dissolved.

A partnership agreement can prevent this. It is often in the remaining partner’s best interest to buy the deceased’s share. This means that they need a Partnership Assurance Protection plan in place.

Limited Company Protection

Just like a partnership, a Limited company’s shareholders need to protect against the death or critical illness of a shareholder. A shareholder protection plan can provide financial security to joint owners of a business in the event of a shareholder’s death or critical illness.

Life Insurance

A business agreement can be put in place, that in the event of one shareholder’s death the proceeds of a life insurance plan can be paid to the remaining shareholders. These funds are used to pay for the deceased shareholder’s interest in the business from his or her estate.

This means the shares remain within the company, but the beneficiaries of the deceased shareholder, receive the monetary value of those shares.