September 20, 2021
Bespoke Lintels Bring Character to Stunning £26M School

Bespoke Lintels Bring Character to Stunning £26M School

Bespoke gothic arch lintels from IG lintels have played an important role in the transformation of an 19th century Carmelite convent, the centrepiece of the new Chichester Free School. Vacated in 1994 and in disrepair since a fire destroyed its chapel in 2009, the convent in Hunston, West Sussex, required

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7 Financing Options For Small Scale Contractors

Like any other business, operating a small-scale contractor’s firm isn’t easy. Most of these businesses fail to take off from the ground due to many challenges, one of them being the lack of enough funds. Insufficient capital can hinder contractors’ firms from paying for their overhead, labor, or even expanding

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Issue 323 : Dec 2024

September 20, 2021

Bespoke Lintels Bring Character to Stunning £26M School

Bespoke Lintels Bring Character to Stunning £26M School

Bespoke gothic arch lintels from IG lintels have played an important role in the transformation of an 19th century Carmelite convent, the centrepiece of the new Chichester Free School. Vacated in 1994 and in disrepair since a fire destroyed its chapel in 2009, the convent in Hunston, West Sussex, required partial demolition and refurbishment as part of the creation of a new school for over 1280 students. In a design by Novium Architects and built by Farrans Construction, the new school blocks are linear in form with each wing projecting either side of the newly restored and central convent block which forms the heart of the school. The new build aspects have been designed to complement the existing convent block – a heritage building which is essential to the character of the site and a valuable asset to the new school. To ensure the existing convent facades were restored to their former gothic glory, IG Lintels was approached for the design and manufacture of a bespoke double gothic arch lintel. A 1580mm opening span, incorporating two 650mm wide gothic arch details, with a 430mm rise was specified – increasing the end bearing to extend the distribution of the load to the brickwork. This lintel replicated the dimensions of an existing opening, ensuring full structural support was restored. With the new school now open to students from reception through sixth form, IG’s provision of special lintels ensured Farrans Construction effectively retained the original features of the historic building. The previously disused convent building is now fully restored and forms the heart of the Chichester school development, demonstrating the importance of restoring buildings of such architectural significance. The Keystone Group is the UK’s largest Steel Lintel manufacturer and Europe’s fastest growing Roof Window manufacturer. With a strong focus on innovation the company has grown to its present position in the marketplace by establishing a reputation for reliable supply of quality specialist products.

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7 Financing Options For Small Scale Contractors

Like any other business, operating a small-scale contractor’s firm isn’t easy. Most of these businesses fail to take off from the ground due to many challenges, one of them being the lack of enough funds. Insufficient capital can hinder contractors’ firms from paying for their overhead, labor, or even expanding their operations. The good news is that small-scale contractor firms can keep their doors open by utilizing some of the available financial options to raise capital. So, if you also want to inject some capital into your firm but don’t know where to get it from, stick here for a few seconds. You’re going to learn some simple yet effective strategies you can implement to finance your contractor’s firm. Read on. How Can You Finance Your Small-Scale Contractors Firm? There are several business financial options at your disposal. Some of them include the following. 1. Getting A Loan Taking a loan is perhaps one of the simplest financial options you can consider when financing your contractor’s firm. It involves borrowing a fixed amount of money from banks or other financial institutions and later paying it plus interest for a specified period. The amount payable is paid back on equally monthly installments, which comprises the principal and the interest amount. Before giving you the money, the lending institutions require you to have a high credit score and produce certified documents to prove your business income level. This allows them to gauge your ability to repay the loaned amount. But if you haven’t kept proper documentation to prove your income level, you shouldn’t shy away. You can apply for low doc loans. For more information about doc loans, you can read from this source and other similar resources.  2. Aid From Relatives And Friends Getting financial help from your family members and friends is another effective strategy to finance your contractor’s firm. It involves approaching your parents, siblings, and other close people to plea for business financial support, especially during the initial stages. It’s one of the quickest funding processes with friendly terms. This is because some of your relatives will provide finance to your business at zero or low-interest rates.  3. Government Grants Grants are financial aids awarded by the government to applicants whose businesses have high chances of succeeding. Government aids are much competitive than all other financial options. This is because grants are free money given out to businesses rather than being borrowed.  However, to increase your chances of being awarded as government grant, take your time to learn more about the eligibility requirements before drafting your grant proposal.  4. Invoice Financing Also known as factoring, invoice financing is a practice where a third-party firm buys account receivables of another company at a discounted price. These third-party companies are known as factors. They provide cash for businesses by purchasing customers’ debts. So, by utilizing the invoice financing option, you can increase your cash inflow. This allows your small-scale contractors’ business to remain afloat, thus gaining a competitive advantage.  5. Convertible Debt Convertible debt is a financial option that allows you to borrow money from investors who agree to convert these debts to shares in the future. Though you might lose some ownership of your business, convertible debt can be the best financing option for your business. It’s an attractive option to convince potential investors to support your business financially.  6. Crowdfunding  Crowdfunding is one of the latest funding options adopted by modern businesses. It involves raising funds from the general public through online platforms. This means that you get contributions from several people who are willing to support your business. These contributions are later converted either to debts or shares. However, to benefit from the crowdfunding option, you must share your business goals and vision with potential donors through social media and other online channels.  7. Equity Financing Equity financing is the practice of raising funds by selling part of your business to potential shareholders. It’s where you surrender some of your ownership to other people in exchange for money. One of the major advantages of equity financing is that the purchases can bring in new ideas and skills which can help your business to thrive forward.  Takeaway Insufficient capital is one of the major constraints that can hinder the growth and expansion of your small-scale contractor’s firm. Without enough funds, your business might not be in a position to pay its expenses and other core operations. However, you can overcome financial challenges by adopting some business financing options. With that said, some of the common business financing options include getting a loan, aids from relatives and friends, government grants, invoice financing, convertible debts, and equity financing. 

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