Two Tesla Model Y Performance, funded when the manufacturer said no

We had funded equipment for this business before, so we knew how it traded, who ran it and what the order book looked like.

When the two directors decided to move themselves into electric cars, the obvious route was funding through the manufacturer. That route closed quickly. The company was young, the filed accounts were thin, and the decision was made on age rather than on the business itself.

Direct manufacturer finance declined on trading history alone, with no room to explain the numbers behind it.

The directors were already committed to the switch, with charging at both home and the office being sorted in parallel.

Paying cash for two performance vehicles would have taken a serious bite out of the cash the business needed for growth.

We already understood the business, so the proposal was built on trading performance, contracted work and director experience rather than a scorecard.

We placed it with a funder that reads owner managed businesses properly and is comfortable with electric vehicle residual values.

We also talked through the charging side, because a company car decision that ignores where the vehicles plug in creates a problem three months later.

Both vehicles leased on a single four year agreement rather than two separate applications.

Three months deposit, which kept the monthly cost sensible without draining the account.

One point of contact through delivery, so the directors were not chasing two funders and a dealer.

Both cars were delivered on the original timeline, despite the initial decline.

The company kept its cash for hiring and stock rather than putting it into two vehicles.

A clean payment record on this agreement has since made the next funding conversation considerably easier.