Accepting Ferraris As Collateral

Funding entrepreneurs by taking their accumulated assets into account is challenging vested ways of financing.

- Timothy Rangongo

Most entrepreneurs operate in capital-intensive industries where cash flow could get very tight, prompting a need for pressure releases in the working capital cycle. That is how Lamna Financial, a speciality finance company, got into the business of short-term, asset-backed transactions about eight years ago.

“To give that release of cash flow pressure for a short period of time in this little niche space where you need quick access to cash and the banks won’t give it to you; or if they do, it will either take too much time or red tape,” says Charles Meyerowitz, co-founder of Lamna Financial.

Lamna’s alternative services are usually used by entrepreneurs for fast bridging finance as opposed to the laborious loan and business plan process of trying to go through banks.

Client profile

The profile of Lamna’s clients is typically entrepreneurial, savvy, commercial, positive and optimistic, according to Meyerowitz.