Hermes Capital

03/06/2026

🏗️ Progress claims can create a serious funding gap for subcontractors.

Especially once working capital requirements move past $1 million or $2 million.

Banks can hesitate.
Traditional invoice financiers often won’t fund progress claims.
FinTech facilities may not have the scale required.
But for project-based operators, the costs arrive early.

Wages. Equipment. Fuel. Subcontractors. Mobilisation. For a mining services contractor, civil subcontractor or construction business taking on a larger contract, that gap can quickly become $2 million, $4 million or more.

That’s where Hermes Capital can help. Our Progress Claim Funding is built for businesses that bill via certified progress claims and need a facility structured properly for the scale of the work.

Facilities from $1 million to $10 million
Unlock up to 70% of certified progress claims
Designed for project-based operators with larger working capital needs

If your client has secured a larger contract but needs working capital to mobilise and deliver it, get in touch. We’ll look at the position and see what can be structured.

Learn more here:
https://hermescapital.com.au/our-products/invoice-finance-progress-claims

01/06/2026

⚠️ When a business is under pressure, the wrong funding decision can do more damage than the original problem.

At our seminar, Restructure, Refinance or Run the Auction?, Nick Samios, Bruce Connors and Marcus Petrovic joined Max Szarycz to discuss one of the biggest questions brokers face:

When a client is under pressure, what is the right move?

Refinance?
Restructure?
Sell down assets?

The answer depends on timing, structure and whether the business has a realistic path forward.

One of the strongest themes from the discussion was the difference between easy money and effective money.

Fast funding can provide temporary relief, but if it is being used to cover ongoing losses, fund cash leakage or delay difficult decisions, it can quickly erode equity.

This is especially true when businesses start stacking multiple short-term facilities on top of each other.

What begins as a quick working capital fix can become:

• daily repayments draining cash flow
• rising cost of capital
• shrinking equity
• fewer restructuring options
• weaker asset recoverability

That is why early intervention matters.

The earlier brokers and advisers step in, the more options a business usually has.

Read the full article here:
https://hermescapital.com.au/2026/05/01/restructure-refinance-or-run-the-auction/

When a business is under pressure, what do you think gets overlooked most often: timing, structure or asset value?

30/05/2026

🔍 Everyone wants funding done quickly, but valuation is one part of the process that can’t always be rushed.

In our “Restructure, Refinance or Run the Auction?” seminar, Marcus Petrovic and Bruce Connors discussed what often gets missed when brokers and funders talk about turnaround times. A funder might say a deal can move in 24 hours, but if the assets need to be inspected, the timing depends on access, asset location, condition and availability.

For transport, hire and construction businesses, assets are often moving, out on hire, spread across worksites or unavailable for inspection.

Seeing enough of the fleet to support a reliable valuation can take time. That doesn’t mean the process is slow for the sake of it. It means the valuation needs to stand up.

This discussion formed part of our Sydney seminar with Max Szarycz ( Hermes Capital ), Nick Samios (Director, Hermes Capital ), Marcus Petrovic (Director & Head of Client Strategy, Mackay Goodwin ) and Bruce Connors (Director, Industrial, Pickles ).

Want the bigger picture on restructure, refinance and asset recovery strategy?
Read the seminar recap here:
https://hermescapital.com.au/2026/05/01/restructure-refinance-or-run-the-auction/

27/05/2026

⚠️ “They’ve never missed a payment. Why have they been moved to bad bank?”

It is a question brokers hear often. Here's the difference between monetary default and non-monetary default, and why a client can be transferred into loans management, asset management or strategic account management even when repayments are up to date.

A monetary default is usually obvious:

• missed repayment • overdrawn accounts
• repayment arrears

But non-monetary default can be harder to spot. That may include:

• ATO arrears
• statutory demands or court action
• weakened liquidity or working capital ratios
• declining profitability
• reduced sales
• warning signs in the financials

Once a client is moved into “bad bank,” the conversation can change quickly.

Access to funds may tighten. Overdrafts may be frozen. The bank may start managing the client more closely, or preparing to exit the relationship altogether. For brokers, this is the point where early action matters.

If you have a client in this situation, get in touch with Hermes Capital. We can review the position, talk through the options, and see what structured funding solutions may be available before the pathway narrows further.

https://hermescapital.com.au/

25/05/2026

📊 Capital is still available in the SME credit market.

That does not mean every deal is getting through.

At our seminar, Risk, Assets and Capital: SME Credit Markets in 2026, Nick Samios was joined by Ian Hyman, Patrick Schweizer and Mark Rainbird to unpack what is really changing in SME credit.

The discussion kept coming back to three core areas: Risk. Assets. Capital.

In the current market, deals are not necessarily falling over due to a lack of funding. They are falling over because the structure does not hold up under scrutiny.

Credit teams are looking more closely at:
• asset quality
• recoverability
• secondary market value
• cash flow assumptions
• downside scenarios
• the realism of the exit strategy

For brokers, that means the role is shifting.

It is no longer just about sourcing capital. It is about understanding how the deal behaves if things do not go to plan.

What happens if the asset takes longer to realise?
What happens if cash flow softens?
What happens if the exit pathway is not as clean as expected?

These are the questions that matter in a higher-for-longer environment.

Read the full piece here:
https://hermescapital.com.au/2026/04/01/risk-assets-and-capital-whats-changing-in-sme-credit-markets/

What part of the credit process do you think brokers need to spend more time on right now?

23/05/2026

🚛 One of the biggest mistakes stressed businesses make is hanging on to underutilised assets for too long.

In this clip from our “Restructure, Refinance or Run the Auction?” seminar, Marcus Petrovic and Bruce Connors discuss why getting involved early matters.

The earlier advisers and brokers step in, the more options there are to unlock equity, improve cash flow, reduce repayments and create breathing room for the business.

But emotion often gets in the way.

Directors become attached to assets because of the time, money and effort invested into them, even when those assets are sitting idle or contracts are no longer commercially viable.

The reality is that written-down values and emotional value rarely match true market value.

This discussion formed part of our Sydney seminar with Max Szarycz ( Hermes Capital ), Nick Samios (Director, Hermes Capital ), Marcus Petrovic (Director & Head of Client Strategy, Mackay Goodwin ) and Bruce Connors (Director, Industrial, Pickles ).

📖 Read more from the seminar here:
https://hermescapital.com.au/2026/05/01/restructure-refinance-or-run-the-auction/

🎥 See our page for more clips and insights from the session.

20/05/2026

💰 Certainty matters when small businesses are deciding whether to invest, replace equipment or hold onto cash.

The broking industry has welcomed the federal government’s decision to make the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent, giving eligible small businesses more certainty when planning equipment, vehicle and productive asset purchases.

That stability is important.

For many SMEs, especially in asset-heavy sectors like construction, transport, manufacturing and mining services, capital expenditure decisions are rarely simple. A new vehicle, machine, piece of equipment or system can improve productivity, but it also affects cash flow, debt capacity and the overall funding structure.

CAFBA has welcomed the move, while also noting that the measure could go further, including a higher threshold and broader eligibility for more SMEs.

At Hermes Capital, we see this tension often.

Business owners want to keep investing, but they also need funding structures that support the business beyond the purchase itself.

Because the question is not just:
“Can we afford the asset?”

It is also:
“Will this investment improve cash flow, preserve working capital and support the next stage of the business?”

For brokers and SME advisers, this is a useful article to share with clients who are weighing up asset purchases, refinancing needs or EOFY investment decisions.

Read the full article here:
https://www.brokerdaily.au/economy/21557-broking-industry-applauds-move-to-make-iawo-permanent

What are you seeing from SME clients at the moment? More confidence to invest, or still holding back?

While the industry has welcomed the government’s decision to make the $20,000 instant asset write-off a permanent deduction, they have suggested more could be done to support SMEs.

18/05/2026

⚠️ The longer businesses wait to deal with funding pressure, the fewer good options they usually have.

In this clip from our “Restructure, Refinance or Run the Auction?” seminar, Nick talks through a situation many brokers and advisers know well.

A business needs funding. They hear advice they don’t like. They shop around looking for a better answer. Then suddenly the deadline arrives. Now the money is needed by Friday.

That’s when fast money starts creeping into the conversation. Expensive facilities. Daily repayments. Short-term fixes that often create even more pressure on cash flow. The reality is that properly structured funding is designed to buy time to actually fix the business, not just delay the problem.

This discussion formed part of our Sydney seminar with Max Szarycz ( Hermes Capital ), Nick Samios (Director, Hermes Capital), Marcus Petrovic (Director & Head of Client Strategy, Mackay Goodwin ) and Bruce Connors (Director, Industrial, Pickles ).

📖 Read more from the seminar here:
https://hermescapital.com.au/2026/05/01/restructure-refinance-or-run-the-auction/

🎥 See our page for more clips and insights from the session.

16/05/2026

🏗️ This Wednesday in Brisbane.

If you’re a broker working with commercial clients, asset-backed lending, restructure scenarios or deals that don’t fit neatly inside standard credit policy, this session is worth having in your calendar.

📍 Pullman Brisbane King George Square, Brisbane City
📅 This Wednesday, May 20 | 8:15 AM - 9:45 AM

Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/broker-masterclass-structuring-complex-deals-in-todays-market-tickets-1988884713718?aff=oddtdtcreator

Our Broker Masterclass: Structuring Complex Deals in Today’s Market will look at what it takes to structure deals with more confidence when the market is tighter, clients are under more pressure and lenders are asking sharper questions.

Panel:
Max Szarycz, Hermes Capital, Panel Host
Nick Samios, Director, Hermes Capital
Peter Lucas, Commercial Finance and Restructuring Specialist
Additional speaker to be announced

Bring your questions. This is built for real-world commercial finance conversations.

13/05/2026

💬 Brokers are often one of the first people to notice when a small business is under pressure.

That might show up as:

• tighter cash flow
• missed or delayed repayments
• increased use of short-term funding
• ATO arrears or payment plans
• pressure across both business and home lending

CAFBA and the MFAA have released a useful joint resource for brokers supporting small business clients in the current environment.

One of the strongest points in the guide is simple but important: the earlier clients engage, the more options they usually have. The resource encourages brokers to stay close, ask practical questions, identify emerging risks early and help clients make informed credit decisions, not rushed ones.

This is something we see often at Hermes Capital.

When cash flow pressure is left too long, the conversation can shift quickly from “What are our options?” to “What can we save?”

That is where structure matters.

The right funding approach should consider the business need, the security position, the cost of capital, the repayment impact and the long-term outcome, not just whether money can be found quickly.

For brokers working with SME clients, this resource is well worth reading and sharing.

Read the CAFBA and MFAA resource here:
https://www.mfaa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Supporting-Your-Small-Business-Clients.pdf

What early warning signs are you seeing most often with SME clients at the moment?