Raising Finance & Attracting Investment - Advice From Accountants Who've Done It Themselves
Most accountants can tell you what finance options exist. Very few have actually sat across the table from an investor, negotiated a bank facility, or built the financial model that secured a growth funding round. At Merit Accountants, our partners have. That experience fundamentally changes the advice you receive when you’re trying to raise capital for your business.
Whether you need debt finance, equity investment, or a government-backed growth scheme, we prepare you thoroughly, with investor-ready financial packs, robust financial projections, and strategic guidance on structuring your business to make it as attractive as possible to lenders and investors.
The Finance Raising Challenge, And Where Most Businesses Go Wrong
The most common reason businesses fail to secure the finance they need is not the quality of their business idea, it is the quality of their financial presentation. Banks and investors are risk-averse. They need to see clear, credible financial data that demonstrates that your business understands its own numbers, has a realistic growth plan, and can service the debt or deliver the return being requested.
Many businesses arrive at funding conversations with accounts that are accurate but not persuasive. Our role is to transform your financial position into a compelling, evidence-based case for investment.
Finance Options We Help You Access
✓ Bank Loans and Commercial Finance
We prepare the financial information required to support applications to high-street and challenger banks, including audited or management accounts, detailed cash flow forecasts, and supporting narrative. We advise on the most suitable facilities, term loans, revolving credit facilities, asset finance, or invoice financing, depending on your specific need.
✓ Angel Investment
We help you prepare an investor-ready financial pack including a three-to-five year financial model, valuation basis, funding requirement justification, and use of funds. We also advise on equity structuring and the terms of investment agreements from a financial and tax perspective.
✓ Venture Capital and Growth Equity
For technology and high-growth businesses seeking venture capital or growth equity, we prepare the financial materials required for a fundraise, including revenue models, unit economics, and cap table management, and advise on the tax implications of different investment structures.
✓ EIS and SEIS
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) provide significant tax relief to private investors, making investment in qualifying companies substantially more attractive. We advise on EIS and SEIS eligibility, manage the advance assurance process with HMRC, and issue EIS3 and SEIS3 certificates to investors.
✓ Government-Backed Schemes
We advise on the Start Up Loans scheme, Innovate UK funding, and other government-backed finance options available to qualifying UK businesses.
What We Prepare For Your Funding Round
Our finance raising support package includes: a detailed three-to-five year financial model with assumptions clearly documented; a funding requirements summary and use of funds statement; investor-ready management accounts presented to professional standards; a cash flow forecast demonstrating the business’s ability to service debt or deliver investor returns; tax structuring advice on the most efficient way to receive and deploy the investment; and support throughout the due diligence process, responding to financial queries from lenders or investors on your behalf.
What Makes Our Advice Different
Hussein Bhaiji, one of Merit’s founding partners, built the firm from a standing start to a thriving multi-million pound practice. Mukkarram Ali, also a partner in Merit, has obtained external loan and government backed finance from investors for his e-commerce business and for a clients with over £100m property development portfolios. Our partners have navigated the funding journey for themselves as well as for thousands of other clients, and that lived experience means our advice on raising finance is grounded in commercial reality, not just textbook theory.
When we tell you what an investor wants to see, it is because we have been investors. When we tell you how a bank assesses a loan application, it is because we have been through that process. That perspective cannot be replicated from an office that has only ever processed other people’s numbers.