Their ability to innovate and grow fast are a key determinant in our success post covid-19 recovery. However, most SMEs will require funding during the restart phase to fuel innovation. Most mainstream lenders still require security against fixed assets, this could be a major stumbling block. In today’s data-driven economy, fewer companies have the need to invest in tangible assets: a survey by Standard & Poors in 2018 showed that 84% of the total value of S&P top 500 companies was made up of intangible assets, up from 17% in 1975, when the top 500 was dominated by more traditional manufacturing companies. So, how do we access loans for companies where the main assets are intangible? One of our clients at ABGI, is involved in developing immersive AV experiences for health & fitness, hospitality and retail sectors. The company developed its own proprietary software for improved management of integration and distribution of data and audio and video signal. They were looking for a significant amount of money to support commercialisation and market development but had limited assets against which a lender could take security. ABGI introduced the client to a lender who was able to value the proprietary software and secured a term loan of £1.6million against the software IP, thus giving our client the working-capital it needed, while retaining ownership and access to the IP which gives it competitive advantage in its chosen markets.