March 2016 - Liquid Capital

The Secret To Financing Growth

March 22, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog Posts /by Denise Pontes

Turn your business into a growth powerhouse with one simple insight.

You’ve just received a terrific opportunity: The sale that will take your business to the next level. Nothing in small business is as exhilarating as a sudden growth spurt that comes from a big order. But after the thrill of the deal, how do you deliver the goods without overstretching yourself at the bank? When you make a big sale you’re going to need supplies to complete the order. But you could well run into suppliers who don’t want to risk sending you supplies without getting paid up front. Consider their position—they may be wondering if you can really deliver that big sale, and whether your ultimate customer will pay in a timely manner. They might not be willing to risk selling to you without payment up front.

What can you do to satisfy your suppliers while getting the materials you need to complete your sale to the big customer? One solution that many smart small business operators rely on is purchase-order (PO) financing, and it can be a genuine lifeline at times like this. PO financing can cover up to 100% of the costs of producing goods by paying your suppliers either with a letter of credit against production or payment against bona fide shipping documents. You and your financial institution arrange for inspection of completed goods before payment goes out, protecting you and the financier.

Robert Thompson-So, Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer at Liquid Capital, says PO financing typically covers two types of deals. One is pre-sold finished goods shipped directly to an end buyer, to a third-party warehouse or shipped and monitored to a client’s warehouse. A second type of deal is to fund works in progress.

You need to understand that PO financing is not a loan, Thompson-So says. “It is essentially an advance on funds to cover suppliers’ bills. A financier agrees to pay your supplier for goods pre-sold to your customer. They then collect the invoice from the end customer and retrieve the moneys advanced you, minus a fee.”

Another benefit is that PO financing doesn’t require a perfect credit history on your part. The financial institution will, however, be vigilant about your ultimate customer’s creditworthiness because that is how it will get repaid. So if you have average credit, you can feel confident about using PO financing.

Even if you’re using PO financing, always be sure to watch your cash cushion. PO financing is no substitute for vigilance over payables and receivables. Run a simulation on what would happen if your customers got behind in their payments—would if affect your ability to attract the kind of big orders PO financing would help you with? Would it hamper your credit rating? Consider electronic invoicing so you can track your payments at all times. This will be important as your business grows with those big orders coming in.

Flexiti Financial And Liquid Capital Announce Credit Facility To Support Growth Of Its Consumer Finance Business In Canada

March 17, 2016/0 Comments/in Press /by liquidcapitalb

Flexiti Financial (formerly Wellspring Financial) and Liquid Capital Announce Credit Facility to Support Growth of its Consumer Finance Business in Canada

Flexiti Financial (“Flexiti”), a Canadian fintech company offering point -of-sale consumer financing, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Liquid Capital Corporation (“Liquid Capital”), a company specializing in providing working capital, asset based lending and trade finance solutions. Under the agreement, Liquid Capital will provide the senior debt for a new credit facility, initially in an amount of up to $25 million, for consumer receivables generated by Flexiti Financial. The facility will be used to finance the warehousing of receivables originated by Flexiti pending their securitization.

Launched in 2014, Flexiti Financial provides retailers, home improvement contractors and healthcare practitioners the ability to offer their customers the option to pay for big-ticket purchases of goods or services either in equal payments or at a later date, making those purchases more affordable to the consumer. Flexiti has built an award-winning technology platform, providing customers with a virtual credit card in minutes, and making the application and approval process quick and easy. Having completed an equity financing of over $5 million in 2014 and a further $4MM in subordinate debt financings in 2015, Flexiti has just secured an additional $2MM in operating capital and will shortly be undertaking an equity raise to support its growing consumer finance business. This new capital, along with its receivables warehousing facility, will position Flexiti to fund its continuing growth across all market segments, as well as a planned expansion into other products and services.

“We are pleased to have formed a funding partnership with Flexiti Financial,” said Sol Roter, President and co-founder of Liquid Capital. “Flexiti’s award-winning technology platform and merchant partnerships have tremendous potential for the origination of quality financial assets. This transaction represents an important addition to the Liquid Capital portfolio and provides an outstanding opportunity to showcase Liquid Capital’s increasing commitment to the asset based lending space.”

Liquid Capital entered into a joint venture with Next Edge Capital Corp. (“Next Edge”) in 2015 to co-fund investments in accounts receivable, trade finance, and Asset Based Lending transactions sourced by and through Liquid Capital’s Principal distribution channel and financed by the Next Edge Private Debt Fund (the “Next Edge Fund”). The Next Edge Fund has now grown to approximately $40MM and will continue to grow as Liquid Capital continues to source quality transactions through its network of originators inCanada and the United States.

“Flexiti Financial is very pleased to announce the establishment of this new credit facility,” said Peter Kalen, Founder and CEO of Flexiti Financial. “We have been looking for a funding partner with access to capital on flexible terms to support our business growth and allow us to build our on-balance sheet asset pool for ultimate securitization purposes. Liquid Capital, through its partnership with Next Edge, provides the strength and the vision we are looking for to move the business to the next level. With this new funding partnership in place, we are confident that our 100% paperless and instant credit card solution can continue to expand quickly inCanada, allowing our nearly 1,000 merchant partners the ability to grow their sales by making large purchases more affordable for their customers.”

INFOR Financial Inc. acted as the financial advisor to Flexiti Financial for this transaction and Raymond James Ltd. acted as the ‎financial advisor to both Liquid Capital and Next Edge.

Flexiti Financial is currently available in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. If you are interested in offering Flexiti financing to your customers, please contact us at sales@flexitifinancial.com or call us at 1-855-559-0909.

About Flexiti Financial:

Flexiti Financial, formerly Wellspring Financial, is a Canadian fintech company in the POS consumer lending space, led by an experienced team of executives with extensive knowledge of the retail credit space in Canada, leveraging mobile technology to deliver the fastest application process available in the market. It is the only fintech in the consumer lending space competing directly against large financial institutions by offering a retail private label credit card solution. The technology platform was recognized as market leading, winning ACT (Advanced Card Technologies) Canada’s 2015 Technology Innovation Award for Payments Benefiting Consumers and the 2015 Silver Technology Innovation Award for Canadian Payments Benefiting Merchants.

For more information, visit www.flexitifinancial.com.

About Liquid Capital:

Since 1999, Liquid Capital Corporation has been operating in the factoring and trade finance business. Over that period of time, the company has processed well over $2 billion in accounts receivables and trade finance transactions through both its Canadian headquarters in Toronto and US headquarters in Dallas. The company also has a master franchise relationship in Mexico. Through its 80+ franchised office network, the company locally originates, manages, and funds accounts receivables, asset based lending and trade finance transactions. Further information can be found at www.liquidcapitalcorp.com.

About Next Edge Capital:

Next Edge was formed through a management spin out of the Canadian office of Man Investments Canada Corp. in 2014. The management team opened the Canadian office of Man Group plc. (“Man”) in 2006 and has raised over CDN $1.0 billion since inception.

Next Edge searches the world for investment managers and strategies that aim to deliver robust risk-adjusted performance. The people and approaches we discover may not be well known in Canada, but we think they provide something remarkable – access to what’s next. The yields available today from traditional fixed income investments are at all-time lows. One area where there are still opportunities for significant yield generation with security is Private Debt. Next Edge’s first two offerings in this space – the Next Edge Private Debt Fund and the VPC Specialty Lending Trust seek to capitalize on this opportunity. Our clients appreciate seeing compelling new approaches, even though some are complex or are limited in capacity. For more than a decade, the Next Edge management team has provided access to unique strategies before they have become widely known. Further information can be found at www.nextedgecapital.com.

SOURCE: Flexiti Financial

For further information: Flexiti Financial: Peter Kalen, Chief Executive Officer, pkalen@flexitifinancial.com, (416) 583-1861; Liquid Capital: Sol Roter, Liquid Capital Corporation, sroter@liquidcapitalcorp.com, (416) 222-5599 ext. 8185

Liquid Capital Corporation Announces Purchase Of TCE Capital Corporation

March 17, 2016/0 Comments/in Press /by liquidcapitalb

TORONTO, May 16, 2016 /CNW/ – Liquid Capital Corp. (“Liquid Capital”), a Canadian-founded trade finance and asset-based lending company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement where it has acquired the assets and associated goodwill of TCE Capital Corporation (“TCE Capital”), a boutique asset based lender based in Toronto, Canada.

Launched in 1992, TCE Capital was founded and has been managed by experienced entrepreneurs and has historically funded in excess of $400 million annually in asset-based loans and transaction volume, with a focus on transaction sizes ranging from $250,000up to $4 million.

“We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of certain of TCE Capital’s assets, while bringing the knowledge and expertise of TCE Capital’s senior management and risk team into Liquid Capital,” said Sol Roter, CEO and co-founder of Liquid Capital. “This transaction is part of the continued evolution of Liquid Capital’s trade finance and asset based lending solution set. Our Principal network and clients will benefit from our expanding product line, and our continued ability to be a creative and driving force in the industry.”

“From our first meeting, it was clear that Liquid Capital was the ideal partner to move our vision forward,” Gus Baril, President of TCE Capital, intones. “This timely transaction marks, in a positive way, the end of the beginning for all of us at TCE Capital. Our management, staff, clients and suppliers are in good hands as the significant Liquid Capital Principal network, capable management, financial capability and international presence that is Liquid Capital bodes well for the next chapter.”

Liquid Capital entered into a joint venture with Next Edge Capital Corp. (“Next Edge”) in 2015 to co-fund investments in receivables sourced by and through Liquid Capital’s principal distribution channel, for investment by Next Edge’s Next Edge Private Debt Fund (“The Next Edge Fund”). The Next Edge Fund has grown to approximately $45 MM in assets and will continue to grow as Liquid sources quality receivable and asset based lending transaction volume through its network of originators in Canada and the United States.

About Liquid Capital:

Since 1999, Liquid Capital Corporation has been operating in the factoring and trade finance business. The Company has processed over $2 billion in accounts receivables and trade finance transactions through both its Canadian headquarters inToronto and US headquarters in Dallas. The Company, with 90 points of presence in 5 countries and on 4 continents, locally originates, manages, and funds accounts receivables, asset based lending and trade finance transactions. Further information can be found at www.liquidcapitalcorp.com.

About TCE Capital:

TCE Capital has provided alternative funding across Canada since its inception in 1992 and has been a pioneer in developing financing products aimed at Canadian entrepreneurs. An emphasis on near bank lending and flexible financing has allowed Canadian business the resources to start, grow and expand for the last 24 years. For more information, please visit www.tcecapital.com

SOURCE Liquid Capital Corporation

For further information: Liquid Capital Corp: Sol Roter, Liquid Capital Corporation, Chief Executive Officer, sroter@liquidcapitalcorp.com, (416) 222-5599 x 8185; Robert Thompson-So, Liquid Capital Corporation, Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, rts@liquidcapitalcorp.com, 416-222-5599 x 8292; TCE Capital Corporation: Rick Coles, TCE Capital Corporation, Vice President and General Counsel, rcoles@tcecapital.com, 416-496-7060; Media Relations: Deborah Thompson, DT Communications, Deborah@dt-communications.ca, 416-918-9551

Hiring Strategies For Growing Companies

March 7, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog Posts /by Denise Pontes

You’ve experienced it either on your own or through clients, colleagues, family or friends: starting a company takes courage and hard work. Growing a company is far more difficult. Whether the business is right out of the gate or in a more advanced stage with a few key employees, the time will come when hiring additional staff is necessary for growth.

Have you taken on too much work yourself?

Entrepreneurs are known for wearing the proverbial “many hats” as they launch and develop their businesses. The same is true of their first-aboard employees. At a certain point, however, they need to delegate those hats to other skilled workers.

How do you know it’s time? Simple – the company is unable to meet demand. Some signs include late orders, poor service and administrative mistakes. Another clue: you must turn down new business to keep up with the client base you already have. Before hiring, though, consider the following:

Whether you really want to grow into a bigger company.
Will new customers/orders continue on a regular basis? Could a temp or freelancer cover your short-term needs?
Can you afford to hire additional employees?

The most importance considerations

You also must decide what positions you need to fill most. If administrative duties are burdening you or an office manager, expanding your customer service and/or administrative team might be a good choice. If you’re not good with numbers, someone with accounting skills can help.

Want to drive more sales? Adding a national sales manager, salesperson or independent sales rep can expand the company’s reach. When it comes to marketing, you can outsource to an agency or social media expert or a combination of creatives to build your brand.

The main thing a small business needs, however, is versatility. Finding multitalented, adaptable people who understand and reflect the business owner’s vision is paramount.

How (and where) to post job ads

What’s the best approach? Entrepreneur recently shared tips for hirers in its article 4 Strategies for Hiring the Right People at Your Startup, written by contributor Brian de Haaff, who has successfully started and sold companies and is currently CEO of Aha!. He stresses the importance of attracting like-minded employees. To do so you’ll need to define your core values as a company and then seek those who have your same work ethic.

Look in the right places, such as posting an opening on your own website, LinkedIn and niche career sites. How you interview potential candidates matters too. “Ask behavioral questions,” de Haaff counsels. “Seek to discover how the candidate’s past actions relate to your values.”

Human Resources Expert Susan M. Heathfield’s About.com post Use a Behavioral Interview to Select the Best Employees stresses the importance of writing the job description based on the behavioral characteristics it requires. If the position is for a salesperson who must be an effective networker then request networking skills. During the interview confirm the characteristic with a behavioral prompt. Heathfield suggests, “Tell me about a time when you obtained a new customer through networking activities.”

Prepare to invest in this endeavor. It takes time and money to search for, interview, hire and train a new employee. If outsourcing services is the solution, selecting the best service partner could take weeks, and possibly months for the individual to get fully up to speed. You’ll know when you’ve chosen the right one: you, your employees and your company will flourish.