The client is a very well established fire and flood damage restoration business. Due to the recent bushfires and storms over the summer, there was an influx of work. The client needed to purchase 2 x Isuzu D-Max utes to expand their fleet.
About this scenario:
This was a Covid-19 test case.
The client came to us at the height of the Covid-19 hysteria.
Given this once in a lifetime pandemic, at the outset we couldn’t assume our clients could get finance.
While the client’s profile would have been ideal for a lo/alt doc product, two of the largest lo/alt doc lenders withdrew their product and were only providing limited lending for full doc.
The restoration business was an essential service and did not have foreseeable impacts from Covid-19. However, given the unprecedented pandemic, the client did not want to use any cash they did not have to.
FY19 financials would take weeks to complete, they couldn’t afford to wait as they had lots of urgent work to complete.
The business was eligible for stimulus measures which would be received by way of BAS credits. To maintain their eligibility, they intentionally had a balance payable in their ATO portal.
In preparing for the submission, we interviewed the MD and CFO in order to prepare detailed commentary on the business history and its current status.
We provided a censored version without submission to lenders to determine eligibility, saving vital time and avoiding redundant credit enquiries.
On the ‘tax debt’, we were to argue that the interest cost was marginal compared to the $50K stimulus they were about to receive.
By staying close to the lenders, we were alerted to favourable policy updates as soon as they were released.
As a result, through one of their existing lenders, we obtained approval for a lo doc product for the two utes.
The loans settled in April 2020 and the client took delivery of the much needed fleet to meet their ongoing influx of work.
