Sebastian Knorr

For lenders and advisers · UK manufacturing

Which manufacturers can still carry another machine?

I test the filed balance sheets of UK manufacturers for how much new plant each could take on. You get the companies by name, each with its limit for cash and for hire purchase.

Ask for a regional cut See the study of 401 companies
Title sheet. 73.3% of 401 UK manufacturers pass on hire purchase, 51.9% from cash, and cash runs out first in 86.5% of failures

01For whom

Those who fund plant, or help others fund it

This is for asset finance lenders, finance brokers, private credit and SME funds, and the advisers who work with owner-managed manufacturers. Your team looks for companies that need new plant and can carry it.

A database tells you who exists. The cut tells you whose balance sheet has room, how much, and whether hire purchase moves the limit.

02What you get

One division, one region, every company named

You choose one SIC division and one region. I run the same tests as in the study over every company that fits.

  • Up to 40 companies, each named and linked to its filingfrom the latest accounts tagged at Companies House
  • The limit for new plant paid from cash and on hire purchasewith the test that binds first
  • The charges registered against each companyso you can see who already holds security
  • The people who control each companyfrom the register of persons with significant control
Page 1 of the study. The headline reads that 73.3% of 401 UK manufacturers could take on plant worth a tenth of their assets on hire purchase, and 51.9% paid from cash.
Page 1 of 2. Companies are not named in the study. Every row and every result is kept as data.

The study behind it

I ran one question over 401 filed balance sheets. How much new plant could each company take on before the balance sheet strains?

Size makes little difference. The way of paying makes most of it. Where a company fails, it is the cash that runs out first in 86.5% of cases.

The study shows the method and the full grid of investment size against the share on hire purchase. A regional cut applies it to named companies.

Open the study PDF, 2 pages, 77 KB

03How we start

Name a division and a region

The scope is agreed in writing before any work starts, with a fixed price and a date.

  1. 1

    You reply with the division and region.

    The ones you would want to look at first.

  2. 2

    I confirm the scope in writing.

    Division, region, size band and the date of delivery.

  3. 3

    Within ten working days you have the cut.

    Each company named, with its limits, its charges and who controls it.

04Write to me

Where would you look first?

Reply to my e-mail or write to the address below. I answer in person, by the next working day.

kontakt@sebastian-knorr.com

The tests describe what a filed balance sheet can carry. Unused facilities, covenants and order books are not in a filing. The cut is not a credit opinion and says nothing about whether a company plans to invest.