Is a Sale Leaseback of My Business Assets a Good Thing?

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Sale Leaseback Financing

At various points in the economic cycle a business owner or financial manager considers a sale leaseback financing. Is that type of transaction advantageous, and what are the risks and benefits?

Many firms do not fully know about or understand the advantages of this type transaction. This is a classic alternative financing strategy that works best when it is a good deal for the lessee and the lessor. It does not work well when the lessor presumes it is a 'cash grab' by the lessee.

This type of financing should be contemplated if your firm has the following characteristics:

- Experiencing working capital challenges
- Declining profits
- Excess unencumbered assets
- High amount of debt




If a company has a high amount of debt a sale leaseback transaction can still be a very positive financing event. By structuring the the transasction as an operating lease the debt becomes 'off balance sheet '. This gives the appearance of the company being not so highly leveraged and quite often it can save the company from being in default of its loan covenants.

In many cases the sale leaseback can bring a significant amount of capital back into the firm.

So when does a firm consider such a transaction - every industry is different but if the firm is bottom line, over leverage, i.e. Debt too high, there can be advantages to an off balance sheet sale leaseback transaction.

If a company has historically had pride of ownership, and has significant assets, and is suddenly going through a high growth stage it also becomes a good candidate for a sale leaseback. Cash flows are restructured and the company gains significant new working capital.

The best candidates, overall, for this type of financing strategy are high growth companies who would prefer to invest additional cash in receivables and inventory. Naturally no lessor wants to consider such a financing if the company is in some sort of death spiral.

In some cases when assets have in fact appreciated (not depreciated in value) the company may actually be able to report a gain in earnings, as the sale leaseback transaction in excess of book value allows the company to book the sale leaseback gain into the profit account!

Many government institutions, such as municipalities, hospitals, etc may find this type of financing strategy as optimal in solving temporary budget cuts and working capital challenges.



In summary, a properly structured sale leaseback can provide new cash, enhance earnings, and in effect be a creative way to temporarily re finance the firm or institution.





7 Park Avenue Financial :
South Sheridan Executive Centre
2910 South Sheridan Way
Suite 301
Oakville, Ontario
L6J 7J8

Direct Line = 416 319 5769

Email = sprokop@7parkavenuefinancial.com

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com


Business financing for Canadian Firms , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing , Equipment Leasing , franchise finance and Cdn. Tax Credit Finance . Founded 2004 - Completed in excess of 100 Million $ of financing for Canadian corporations .

' Canadian Business Financing With The Intelligent Use Of Experience '

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stan has had a successful career with some of the world’s largest and most successful corporations.
Prior to founding 7 Park Avenue Financial in 2004 his employers over the last 25 years were, ASHLAND OIL, ( 1977-1980) DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION, ( 1980-1990) ) CABLE & WIRELESS PLC,( 1991 -1993) ) AND HEWLETT PACKARD ( 1994-2004 ) He is an expert in Canadian Business Financing.

Stan has over 40 years of business and finance executive experience. He has been recognized as a credit/financial executive for three of the largest technology companies in the world; Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment and Cable & Wireless. Stan has had in depth, hands on experience in assessing and evaluating thousands of companies that are seeking financing and expansion. He has been instrumental in helping many companies progress through every phase of financing, mergers & acquisitions, sales and marketing and human resources. Stan has worked with startups and public corporations and has many times established the financial wherewithal of organizations before approving millions of dollars of financing facilities and instruments on behalf of his employers.



Stan Prokop


Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stan_Prokop/432698


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Important Sale Leaseback Financing Success Factors

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Sale Leaseback Financing Lessons That Will Pay Off

Sale leaseback financing provides many advantages to Canadian business owners . While at the same time selling equipment or other assets ( for example real estate ) to a third party you are effectively agreeing to use and repurchase the asset .

The goal ? Simply unlocking and cash flowing the equity you have in the asset . Naturally every company has a different situation for evaluating the reasons to perform a sale leas back financing .

Cash flowing the asset through this financing process allows your company in effect to extract equity - and almost always that equity and potential cash flow infusion is significant, which is one of the reasons your firm is considering the financing .

Generally speaking a typical loan to value amount under the financing process can unlock up to 100 % of the assets value. Naturally in traditional finance scenarios the typical loan to value would be 75%.

Balance sheet implications also come about under the leasing back of assets, and the good news is that in the majority of situations those implications are positive. Your accountant will explain to you that issues such as depreciation can positively impact your financing statements in the sale leaseback process.

While ' off balance sheet financing ' is no longer in vogue for a couple of reasons the selling and refinancing of assets is a positive mechanism to cash flow success. Typically those all important ratios and covenants that revolve around debt to equity positively impact company financial statements. Anytime you remove debt from the balance sheet tends to be a good thing we are told !

Business these days seems to move at lightening speed and even the largest firms in Canada will consider the leasing back of assets as a move to improve liquidity . Any finance mechanism that improves financial statements and generates cash at the same time is a welcome Canadian business financing solution .

Let's back track to understand clearly how the transaction works . The process is quite simple - your firm owns the asset, you sell it to the lessor and lease it back. You have just converted a fixed asset to cash!

Crucial Tactics for Sale Leaseback Financing

Typically it protects both the lender and you the borrower to ensure you have a proper appraisal of the asset in question - again that's typically equipment or real estate. It is critical to mention that that there can be no liens and encumbrances on the asset .

While many firms employ lease back finance as a cash flow strategy it can also be used as a strategic option . Canadian banks sold many of their prestigious bank towers as they realized the benefits of using that capital to grow the bank.

It is safe to say that many firms unfortunately find themselves in a cash crunch and as such that is also a key reason to entertain this method of asset refinancing.

Typical asset categories in the equipment area involve construction , mfg, and rolling stock assets Companies in cash crunches use the cash to mend their working capital and debt situations . Many firms find themselves in seasonal cash crunches which must be addressed. Remember one of the golden rules of finance, which is to use assets that appreciate, while financing those that do not!

Keep the leaseback finance strategy in mind as an additional tool kit in your business finance arsenal .

Seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor who can assist you with business refinancing solutions .



7 Park Avenue Financial :
South Sheridan Executive Centre
2910 South Sheridan Way
Suite 301
Oakville, Ontario
L6J 7J8

Direct Line = 416 319 5769

Email = sprokop@7parkavenuefinancial.com

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com

Click Here For 7 PARK AVENUE FINANCIAL website !



7 Park Avenue Financial provides value added financing consultation for small and medium sized businesses in the area of cash flow , working capital , and debt financing .



Business financing for Canadian Firms , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing , Equipment Leasing , franchise finance and Cdn. Tax Credit Finance . Founded 2004 - Completed in excess of 100 Million $ of financing for Canadian corporations .

' Canadian Business Financing With The Intelligent Use Of Experience '

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stan has had a successful career with some of the world’s largest and most successful corporations.
Prior to founding 7 Park Avenue Financial in 2004 his employers over the last 25 years were, ASHLAND OIL, ( 1977-1980) DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION, ( 1980-1990) ) CABLE & WIRELESS PLC,( 1991 -1993) ) AND HEWLETT PACKARD ( 1994-2004 ) He is an expert in Canadian Business Financing.

Stan has over 40 years of business and finance executive experience. He has been recognized as a credit/financial executive for three of the largest technology companies in the world; Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment and Cable & Wireless. Stan has had in depth, hands on experience in assessing and evaluating thousands of companies that are seeking financing and expansion. He has been instrumental in helping many companies progress through every phase of financing, mergers & acquisitions, sales and marketing and human resources. Stan has worked with startups and public corporations and has many times established the financial wherewithal of organizations before approving millions of dollars of financing facilities and instruments on behalf of his employers.

Stan Prokop

Is it Advisable to Consider Sale-Leaseback Financing?

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Many business owners and financial managers are often faced with the consideration of utilizing a sale - leaseback to generate cash. This strategy became much more popular over the last year or so as banking and credit liquidity scenarios deteriorated.

The overall strategy can be viewed as giving some operational flexibility to the business. The bottom line of course is that it brings additional cash into the company at a time when ash is king. The customer is of course, essentially 'tapping into equity 'that the firm has built up in the asset. What is that asset?

Typically assets given up for consideration in sale leasebacks are manufacturing equipment, computers, and even a firm's real estate.

Sale-leasebacks have to make sense to both the lessor and the lessee. We view the largest ' negative ' aspect to such a transaction being the potential perception by the lessor, or other lenders that the firm is making a last ditch ' cash grab '. There has to be, as referenced above, an agreement that the transaction works for both parties.

If we analyze a typical example of a transaction we will hopefully get a better sense of why this strategy can in fact be a common sense financing alternative. Company A has manufacturing assets, shown as fixed assets on the balance sheet. In the sale - leaseback scenario the assets of course remain at the company - they do not move. The company receives cash for the sale of the asset to the lease firm. Quite frankly customers who consider this transaction have explored other traditional options by this time, such as reviewing additional financing with their bank or other senior lenders. Naturally the equipment is used on a daily basis to continue to generate sales, (and hopefully profits) for the firm.

In certain instances the sale-leaseback can in fact enhance the customer's balance sheet. One additional major flexibility is that the new sale-leaseback financing can in fact be used to generate additional flexibility at the end of the lease - i.e. the customer can again regain ownership of the asset if it will have economic value, or might choose to negotiate a return of upgrade with the vendor or lessor.

In summary, does a sale-leaseback of assets make sense? The answer as we have seen is ' yes ' if in fact it is done for the right reasons and makes sense for the customer and the lender.

Stan Prokop is founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial - http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com The company originates business financing for Canadian companies,specializing in working capital, cash flow, and asset based financing. In business 6 years the company has completed in excess of 45 Million $ of financing for companies of all size.

For info on Canadian business financing and contact details see:

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com/toronto_ontario_equipment_financing.html







7 Park Avenue Financial :

South Sheridan Executive Centre
2910 South Sheridan Way
Suite 301
Oakville, Ontario
L6J 7J8

Direct Line = 416 319 5769

Office = 905 829 2653

Email = sprokop@7parkavenuefinancial.com

http://www.7parkavenuefinancial.com


Business financing for Canadian Firms , specializing in working capital, cash flow, asset based financing , Equipment Leasing , franchise finance and Cdn. Tax Credit Finance . Founded 2004 - Completed in excess of 100 Million $ of financing for Canadian corporations .

' Canadian Business Financing With The Intelligent Use Of Experience '

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stan has had a successful career with some of the world’s largest and most successful corporations.
Prior to founding 7 Park Avenue Financial in 2004 his employers over the last 25 years were, ASHLAND OIL, ( 1977-1980) DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION, ( 1980-1990) ) CABLE & WIRELESS PLC,( 1991 -1993) ) AND HEWLETT PACKARD ( 1994-2004 ) He is an expert in Canadian Business Financing.

Stan has over 40 years of business and finance executive experience. He has been recognized as a credit/financial executive for three of the largest technology companies in the world; Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment and Cable & Wireless. Stan has had in depth, hands on experience in assessing and evaluating thousands of companies that are seeking financing and expansion. He has been instrumental in helping many companies progress through every phase of financing, mergers & acquisitions, sales and marketing and human resources. Stan has worked with startups and public corporations and has many times established the financial wherewithal of organizations before approving millions of dollars of financing facilities and instruments on behalf of his employers.

Stan Prokop










Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stan_Prokop/432698