Paul Philbrick interview with Digital Printer magazine
Paul Philbrick, Sales Director for Close Brothers Asset Finance’s Print division, was recently interviewed by Digital Printer.
What is the general view of financing software projects, as compared to hardware?
We’ve tended to help our customers by looking to refinance more secure assets. This is because it’s traditionally given them access to more affordable funding with better terms - software finance is historically more expensive as it’s typically unsecured.
What kind of investment strategies can you recommend for those looking at a major software spend?
As a funder, it’s not our place to recommend investment strategies; however, speaking from the Close Brothers Asset Finance perspective, we spend time engaging with our customers to find meaningful ways to help them. The truth is that sometimes a standard deal isn’t always the best solution - by taking time to understand our customers and their business we try to take the pressure away from any transaction so that they can get on and run their company.
Creating bespoke solutions for our customers is what we’re good at and we know our customers appreciate this.
How frequently are you approached to finance software deals, given the existence of subscription and cloud-based products?
The software we’ve typically financed has come as part of an overall investment, which would normally include other assets.
What advice would you give to printers considering financing a software deal?
Come and talk to use – we can make something happen.
