Experts are predicting with all the difficulties affecting the supply-chain, it could be the end of 2022 or even 2023 before some normality resumes. There are also concerns that the supply-chain issues will impede the UK’s forecasted economic growth.
The Bank of England’s projection of inflation to be around 5% in the UK with the Consumer Price Index potentially rising to 4.1% which means we will see an increase in our food and energy bills.
Some of the current difficulties are congested container ports, driver shortages and shipping delays. Henrik Pedersen, The Chief Executive of Associated British Ports, has said “when you have congested container ports around the world, it takes a long time to turn it around. We have a shortage of truck drivers in the UK, and in other countries too, so the problem is in the shipping leg and the road leg”.
Some supermarkets are looking to increase driver wages, offer bonuses over the Christmas period and looking towards rail freight to combat against the supply chain issues.
There are also commercial development plans hoping to create thousands of jobs within warehouses, manufacturing, and green energy, hoping to take some of the strain.
Creative solutions and forward planning are crucial to keeping your business moving during these challenging times. WeDo Trade Finance are on hand to guide you and offer dynamic financial solutions.
On 2nd November 2020 WeDo Trade Finance Ltd took its first breath.
On Day 1 we had a plan and the investment to support it along with over 50 years of Trade Finance experience between the Directors – Vince Tovey and Mark Lindsay.
We had no Credit Policy, Facility documents, Marketing Literature, Website or even Bank Account so there was plenty to get stuck into right from the off.
We did have a belief, however, that many SME’s would find coming out of the various lockdowns and shutdowns a real challenge. Assistance was going to be required to help some of these businesses rebuild their order books and start trading again at the levels they aspired to. A significant part of this assistance would revolve around the working capital and the cashflow cycles as they looked to grow again.
From a Trade Finance perspective it was clear that Supplier credit terms would be more difficult to obtain and that some of the more traditional lenders may have a limited appetite to support businesses with weakened Balance Sheets, poor recent trading and a lack of liquid cash.
And sat here 12 months on, so it has proved.
As our first trading year comes to a close, WeDo Trade Finance Ltd has come a long way. We have grown our infrastructure and have bought an experienced Operations Director into the business, namely Chris Crank. What Chris doesn’t know about Trade Finance isn’t worth knowing.
We have also built a varied Client base which continues to grow month on month and have funded the purchase of goods from many different countries throughout the world. We have helped SME’s across a large number of different sectors from Clothing to Luxury Furnishings, from Bar & Kitchen Equipment to Health Supplements, from Sporting Merchandise and Memorabilia to Fashion Accessories, from Seasonal goods based around Halloween, Bonfire Night and, of course Christmas, Safety Equipment and much more.
Although the end of the first year of trading is a milestone for WeDo Trade Finance Ltd, it really does feel like just the beginning for us. There is an exciting opportunity ahead of us to support businesses and their owners who require funding for all the right reasons as they look to bounce back and rebuild post COVID. We want to help make 2022 a great and successful year for as many businesses as we can after everything we have all been through together.
What a year that was!
If you know of a business we may be able to help please get in touch and we would be delighted to see what we can do.