No Dig Down Under

The Melbourne-based finance brokering service’s main focus is to provide hassle free business finance solutions to clients and secure approvals quickly and conveniently.

Appreciating the importance of getting the deal secure for the client in a timely fashion, the first step they take is understanding and identifying the client’s needs.

Finance Broker Theo Robotis has over 30 years’ experience in the financial service world and has been with PEF Commercial Finance for the last 10 years. Theo knows the challenges customers in the trenchless and resources industry face when it comes to securing asset funding. 

“Today’s business world has varying business structures,” he says. “They trade from sole traders, partnerships, companies, trading entities, trusts – all sorts of variances or combinations.” 

One of the key differences in dealing with PEF Commercial Finance is that they take all the hassle out of your application by coordinating, organising and compiling your documents for delivery along with any other required materials. They then arrange the final sign-up immediately so that you, the client, can enjoy use of your new business equipment or vehicle as soon as possible.

The company strives to ensure business loans and finances are easy with their simple three step process. 

The first step is identifying the purchase, which includes pin-pointing the equipment or assets for which the client requires business finance or a loan for. 

“We work with the client to really understand who they are, and how they operate, so that we can narrow down which lending options or which financing solutions are going to be worthwhile,” Theo says. 

“This may be deciding on the exact make and model of the equipment, assets, cars or other types of vehicles, the approximate purchase or lease prices, the source of the equipment being the supplier. An evaluation of the equipment prepared by a valuer may also help.” 

 The second step is to apply for pre-approval. “We (at PEF Commercial Finance) obtain the purchase information from the client and based on our discussions to date, work out the best approach to the business loan and finance application.” 

“We may ask for preliminary summary of financials, depending on the goods and amounts to be financed,” Theo says. 

The third and final step – finalisation and settlement.

“We may be able to obtain an approval for larger amounts which can come in useful for funding future purchases or leases or other business loan applications,” says Theo. 

“Once approval is obtained, we will do the preparation work to compile all documentation and loan contracts for your approval and signature. We will take care of finalising the settlement and paying for the equipment or vehicles.”

Trust is one of the key attributes PEF Commercial Finance has built its business on due to there being a lot of technical and financial information being passed across to the banks on behalf of clients. Theo stated this is a result of the us (PEF) knowing who the banks are that lend to these specific areas and knowing the products and how it’s applied to people’s businesses. 

“We deal with the largest and most reliable financiers, lenders, banks, and credit providers. We understand and implement the process on a daily basis through which we have regular dealings with decision makers,” he says. 

“We work towards streamlining it all for everybody and it is a big hurdle that we’ve got to get over because, as I see it, the banks are sometimes a bit detached from the reality of the small business owner, the guy on the street, or the guy on the building site. 

“So, we’ve got to put it to them, we have got to make them (the banks and lenders) comfortable around what they’re lending against, because that is the bank’s money, and they’ve got to make sure that it goes to the right hands at the right time.” 

At PEF Commercial Finance, another aspect of the service customers can expect is when they lock in repayments for their asset finance, the current interest rate is not going to change. 

“In a time where the interest rates have been moving around, at PEF Commercial Finance, we want to stress that these are commercial agreements, and once we secure a deal, that’s signed, and commenced, the interest rate will not change for our client for the next three-to-five years, or in some instances seven years, depending on their contract,” Theo says. 

When dealing with PEF Commercial Finance you can be assured that as your commercial finance broker, it will provide personalised, efficient and friendly service throughout the entire process from the initial consultation and application to settlement and finalisation.

For more information visit PEF Commercial Finance. 

This article featured in the June edition of Trenchless Australasia.