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A file is rarely rejected because it is weak. More often it is not rejected at all: it is simply never reviewed. The analyst opens it, sees that something is missing, puts it down and moves to the next one. What follows is what they look for first.
1. Financial statements for the last three years
Three years, not one. A single year shows neither trend nor seasonality. Audited statements are a considerable accelerator; if they are not audited, say so upfront rather than letting it be discovered.
2. A recent interim position
Between the last closed year and today, the company has lived. An interim position, even unaudited, spares the financier from reasoning on stale figures.
3. A costed forecast, and its assumptions
The forecast matters less than the assumptions behind it. An experienced financier does not read the bottom line: they read the growth rate, the assumed payment terms and the projected selling price. Those are the three numbers they will challenge.
4. Full detail of existing debt
Outstanding amounts, repayment schedules, security already granted, any arrears. A financier always finds hidden debt — far better that they find it through you.
5. Legal documentation
Up-to-date articles, registration, shareholding structure, minutes of material decisions. A transaction can stall on one poorly documented line of share capital.
6. A precise figure for the need
“We are looking for financing” is not a request. How much, to fund exactly what, over what period, repaid from which cash flows: that is the first question asked, and it calls for four answers.
7. Identification of counterparties
Main customers, main suppliers, any concentration. A company earning half its revenue from a single customer is not ruled out for that reason — but failing to flag it destroys trust.
What this list really means
None of these documents makes the project attractive. They merely make it reviewable. That is why we assemble them during the scoping phase, before any approach to a financier: an incomplete file spends a first impression that cannot be spent twice.