- 23 Jan
UK Economy Officially In Recession
The Office for National Statistics has reported that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the UK fell by 1.5 percent from the previous quarter today. The economy has now shrunk for two successive quarters which is the conventional definition of an official recession.
Related articles
- 20 May
Invoice Finance News From May 2019
These are a few invoice finance related news items that I have picked up on recently.A release from FCI, suggests that the global market for factoring and receivables financing in 2018, hit the 2,767 billion Euro mark. This followed 6% growth since the previous year.Of that huge volume, Europe alone accounted for 66% of the total volume transacted, remaining the largest market for receivables...
- 10 Apr
Need Quicker Payments From Holland & Barrett?
Would you like to get paid quicker by Holland & Barrett? We may be able to help.CONTACT US FOR HELPHolland & Barrett are Europe's largest health food chain with over 1,300 stores, and 4,000 staff. However, a recent article in the Guardian (08/04/19) suggested that supplier invoices may be regularly paid late, with an average of 68 days taken to pay suppliers. In a comment within the article,...
- 11 Feb
Sancus Finance Supply Chain Finance To Shutdown
Reports from StockMarketWire and Morningstar suggest that GLI Finance have taken the decision to shutdown their Supply Chain Finance division, Sancus Finance Ltd, as performance fell short of expectations, with a forecast operating loss of £1M.Performance was apparently impacted by a £1.1M exposure to a supply chain finance borrower, which recently went into Administration. The group prudently...
- 01 Feb
January 2019 FundingVoice Magazine Is Online
The January 2019 edition of FundingVoice magazine is now available online.READ THIS AND OTHER BACK ISSUESThe first edition of 2019 has several articles more than normal - we always have so many different stories its hard to select just a handful.This time its a mixture of rumours and news from some well known invoice finance companies and some specific help for manufacturers and construction...
- 23 Jan
This Is The Last Chance To Help Us
Glenn and Sean from FundInvoice LLP need your help.The window of opportunity to provide a testimonial about FundInvoice is about to close tomorrow. We need your testimonial to help us win Broker of the Year in the Business Moneyfacts awards. The ability to provide testimonials is set to close this week. The form to provide testimonials will only be available until midnight on Friday 25th January...
- 03 Jan
Banks Declines 2 Out Of 10 SME Finance Applications
Figures from UK Finance show that in Q3 2018 banks turned down 2 out of every 10 applications for finance, from SMEs.Whilst the press release from UK Finance focusses on the 69,980 of new loans and overdrafts approved to the value of £7 billion, in Q3 2018, the approval rate of 8 out of 10 means that there are a huge number of SMEs not getting the finance that they need. Using these numbers,...
- 31 Dec
Happy New Year 2019 From The Team At FundInvoice
2018 was another great year for the business finance brokerage team at FundInvoice. We were confirmed, for the 5th year running, as finalists for Best Invoice Finance Broker of the Year through the Business Moneyfacts Awards (winners will be announced in March 2019). We have seen increases in enquiry levels, new business written and we have seen our customer satisfaction average tick up to 4.9...
- 24 Dec
Merry Christmas 2018 From The Team At FundInvoice
The team of business finance and invoice finance brokers at FundInvoice would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas 2018!We hope you enjoy the festivities over the next few days, our phones are always on, so we are always on call, even over the holiday period. When it's your own business, you never want to miss out on helping a customer so no need to worry about calling us.Merry Christmas...
- 19 Dec
Please Vote For FundInvoice To Win Best Invoice Finance Broker
You may have heard that FundInvoice LLP have made the shortlist of Finalists for "Invoice Finance Broker Of The Year" at the Business Moneyfacts awards 2019. Now we need your support as the deadline to vote for us approaches . . .Please help us win the award by providing a quick testimonial (it can be anonymous if you prefer).See our blogpost about making the shortlist - which has a link to give...
- 17 Dec
World Of Open Account (WOA)
I have just registered with the World of Open Account (WOA), which is a new inclusive global Community of professionals and companies, engaged in open account receivables finance, that was launched on the 10th December 2018.WOA ’s website states it's mission as "to be a networking, competence and innovation centre for its members".The global receivables community was launched by Erik...
- 12 Dec
FundInvoice Are Business Moneyfacts Awards Finalists 2019
We are delighted to announce that FundInvoice LLP have been confirmed as "Finalists" for "Best Invoice Finance Broker" in the 2019 Business Moneyfacts awards! This is the 5th year running that we have been confirmed as finalists for an award.We really need a testimonial from you so that we can win this award - if you are a customer, a prospect, a funder that we work with, or a reader of our blog...
- 05 Dec
Accounts Receivables Financing Statistics Show A Move Towards Larger Clients
Having taken a look at the UK Finance (formerly the ABFA statistics) stats to the end of Q2 2018, there are a few trends that are worth noting. Overall members had made £21.4 billion of advances, the majority of that will be accounts receivable financing, with some £4.3 billion being ABL (Asset Based Lending) style facilities.The average advance per client has now increased to almost £531K,...
- 30 Nov
Thanks To Close Brothers For Inviting Us To Their SubZero Event
One of the good things about being invoice finance brokers is that you occasionally get invited to introducer events run by the invoice finance companies.Close Brothers Invoice Finance kindly invited us to their introducer event, held yesterday, at the SubZero ice bar in London. Great fun sipping cocktails from glasses carved from blocks of ice, surrounded by ice sculptures, in a room kept at -5...
- 27 Nov
Clients Returning So We Must Be Doing Something Right
We hope that our clients will stay with us indefinitely, however occasionally a client will choose to leave the invoice finance company that we introduce them to, in favour of an alternative. However, that is not always the end of the story. Like boomerangs, sometimes they come back!GET A FREE INVOICE FINANCE QUOTEI was pleased to see a recent example of a client recontacting FundInvoice, after...
- 26 Nov
Discussion Points From The Alternative & Receivables Finance Forum SME Insights Panel
Following my previous post about the SME Insights panel at the Alternative & Receivables Finance Forum, I went to what was a well organised event, by BCR Publications, at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London, last Thursday, I was fortunate to have a great group of panelists, for the discussion which covered SME opinions on business finance, Brexit, Fintech and receivables financing trends.I...
- 16 Nov
SME Insights Panel - Alternative & Receivables Finance Forum
I had a briefing with the panelists for the SME Insights Panel at the Alternative & Receivables Finance Forum today, ahead of the event that I have been asked to moderate next week. The forum is organised by BCR Publishing, and there is a full day of presentations, panels, case studies and networking opportunities planned around alternative and receivables finance.The SME Insights panel promises...
- 11 Oct
4M Of False Invoices Lands David Marsden A 10 Year Ban
A Government press release dated 8th October 2018 confirms that David Andrew Marsden (62 from Exeter) has provided a 10 year directors disqualification undertaking, that has been accepted by the Secretary of State.The undertaking is effective from 9th October 2018, and prohibits the individual from holding any Directorships. David Marsden was formerly the boss of First Capital Factors, the...
- 24 Sep
Another 100% Invoice Funding Option
We have added another 100% invoice funding provider to our panel of invoice finance companies. This provider will provide 100% funding to a wide variety of industry sectors, but they are also willing to fund in the construction sector, and they have Scottish agreements to handle Scottish companies (which many others can't).I can't think of any other providers that are prepared to fund...
- 18 Sep
Bio For Glenn Blackman
I was recently asked for a short Bio to be used by the publishers that have asked me to help moderate one of the panels at the Alternative and Receivables Finance Forum. The bio is below in case others need it in the future.Glenn Blackman MBA is the Editor of FundingVoice magazine, a free monthly e-publication for SMEs, about business funding and business growth. He is a founding partner in...
- 12 Sep
Ban On Assignment Legislation Goes To Parliament
According to the Gov.uk site, the long awaited legislation outlawing ban on assignment was put to Parliament on the 10th September 2018 by Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst, as part of the Government's modern Industrial Strategy aimed at building an environment in which small businesses can thrive.The legal changes are set out in the draft "Business Contract Terms (Assignment of Receivables)...
- 15 Aug
Our Achievements At FundInvoice
Very quickly I wanted to share some highlights from FundInvoice's recent achievements as company finance brokers:For help and advice about finding business funding or invoice finance please call Sean on 03330 113622....
- 04 Aug
Barclays Bank Takes An Equity Stake In Marketinvoice
In a surprising move, Barclays Bank have *reportedly taken a significant minority stake in Marketinvoice, the Fintech business funding platform. The move was reported to be as part of a strategic partnership, between the two organisations, to offer Marketinvoice's invoice financing services to some of Barclays' customers. Finextra quotes Ian Rand, CEO of Barclays Business Bank as saying ". . ....
- 17 Jul
Advantedge Acquires Henry Howard Cashflow Finance
News just in, Henry Howard Cashflow Finance, the Newport based invoice finance company, has been acquired today by Advantedge Commercial Finance (formerly Factor 21).REQUEST A CALL BACK FROM ADVANTEDGE COMMERCIAL FINANCEApparently Henry Howard Finance Group have decided to exit the invoice finance and factoring market space to refocus on their asset and vendor finance products, leaving an...
- 04 Jul
FundingVoice July 2018 Has Been Sent
The July 2018 edition of FundingVoice magazine has just been sent out via email to all our subscribers. We have over 6,000 subscribers at present - mainly SMEs and finance specialists.Our magazine highlights all the latest news from the business funding sector and the world of invoice finance. If you missed it, you can read back issues here: FundingVoice Back Issues.You can also subscribe for...
- 15 Jun
Ashley Finance Absorbed Into Ultimate Finance
The AIM listed Ultimate Finance Group acquired Ashley Commercial Finance back in 2010 for an initial consideration of £4.75m.Ashley Finance is now to be absorbed into Ultimate Finance with all products and services continuing to be offered as usual.Sad to see another long established factoring brand disappear, but the business itself is now part of an equally established, and respected invoice...
- 13 Jun
Nucleus And Skipton Product Information Added
We constantly update information about the various invoice finance companies on this site, and are we have just added two new product services pages for two providers.Both of these companies are members of our panel of funding providers, and from the product information pages you can access links to make contact with them.Over the last few days, I have also been reminded, how the approach and...
- 09 Jun
Invoice Cycle Rebrands As InvoCap
Invoice Cycle, the selective invoice finance provider, have announced that they are to rebrand their business as InvoCap.At the same time they have announced the expansion of their product range to include secured business loans.Another interesting development within the invoice finance sector, that mirrors several other of the selective invoice finance companies that have made similar moves into...
- 01 Jun
Populous Completes The Worlds First Blockchain Based Invoice Finance Transaction
Populous have apparently completed the world’s first blockchain based invoice finance transaction, with the debtor having paid their invoice, completing the payment cycle.You may be aware that I have written previously about this, and discussed the security benefits of using blockchain to reduce invoice finance fraud.It would seem to me that the key to how useful this type of technology could...
- 31 May
Optimum Finance Launch 60 Second Invoice Finance Approval
Optimum Finance have just released a new web based app for their introducers that requires only 8 clicks in order to get a decision on an invoice finance application within 60 seconds.After approval in less than 60 seconds, the Optimum Finance application apparently emails an offer letter to introducer, within 15 minutes, making the invoice finance approval process very fast for new customers.The...
- 25 May
Retailageddon Continues To Threaten UK High Street Firms
Since my last post about how "Retailageddon" is unfolding in the UK high street, there have been further stories emerging about problems continuing to threaten the UK retail sector.Wesfarmers have just announced the sale of Homebase, the DIY chain, for just £1. Accounting for both the purchase price, and losses incurred, it is estimated that acquiring Homebase has cost the firm in the region of...
- 01 May
Have You Had A Letter From RBS Asking You To Move Your Business Elsewhere?
Have you had a letter from RBS encouraging you to move your business banking elsewhere?I read James Hurley’s article in the Times, “The bank that likes to say goodbye“ (30th of April 2018) with a sense of shock.Apparently, the Royal Bank Of Scotland (RBS) are in the process of writing to 220,000 small companies, that are existing banking customers, asking them “would you kindly consider...
- 26 Apr
Invoice Finance Enquiries We Have Seen Recently
The invoice finance enquiries that we have been seeing recently has been typically diverse, factoring through to invoice discounting.There is a balance between people looking for a full turnover option, where all of their transactions are funded and those looking for selective or single invoice finance.In particular, we have seen a number of enquiries on the selective side, for body shop...
- 25 Apr
How Effective Is Using Blockchain To Avoid Invoice Finance Fraud?
I have seen quite a few articles recently suggesting that blockchain technology can be used to help combat invoice finance fraud. I have written before about the benefits of using blockchain in an invoice finance scenario.The first time I came across this application was an organisation called Populous who are presently are launching what they believe to be the first blockchain based invoice...
- 23 Mar
Looking For The Best Invoice Finance Company?
#BMFawards 2018FundInvoice were pleased to be confirmed as Finalists for Invoice Finance Broker of the Year - 2018, at the Business Moneyfacts awards cermoney that was held on the 21st of March 2018 at the Royal Lancaster hotel, in London.There were numerous awards, presented by Claudia Winkleman (from Strictly Come Dancing), across a range of finance products, but those with an interest in our...
- 10 Mar
Business Moneyfacts Awards Spare Ticket
We have a spare ticket for the Business Moneyfacts Awards 2018 if anyone is interested?If you watch my factoring blog you will know that FundInvoice are Finalists for "Invoice Finance Broker of the Year 2018", and the results are announced at a Gala dinner in March. This will be fourth year running that we have made the shortlist of finalists. Normally, Sean Morrow attends the awards dinner but...
- 06 Mar
No Hesitation Recommending FundInvoice For Invoice & Asset Finance
If you are looking for invoice or asset finance, according to one of our client's recent testimonials, they would have no hesitation recommending that you speak to our team at FundInvoice.We recently had the following testimonial from a client that we helped find funding for their business. This is what the Managing Director of this company, importers of wood to the UK, said about us after rating...
- 27 Feb
Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending Launches
Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending (ACABL), a new invoice discounter and asset based lender, was launched on 26th February 2018 according to a report in CityAM.The private bank, Arbuthnot Latham has apparently started the business in order to enter the SME, asset based lending (ABL) market space.It appears that the business is set to offer small and medium sized businesses:There are of...
- 22 Feb
Apologies To Some Invoice Finance Quote Enquiries
We have to apologise to half a dozen businesses that recently requested invoice finance quotes via our site, and didn't receive an immediate reply. We normally seek to respond within an hour, and we also respond at weekends and during holiday periods (as we did just this past weekend).Unfortunately the issue was a technical one, whereby a change in our web hosting set up seems to have affected a...
- 12 Feb
Good Start To 2018 For FundInvoice Business Finance Enquiries
FundInvoice have had a good start to 2018, with a increasing the number of incoming enquiries for business finance having been received. The numbers are both up on the same time last year, and also up on the end of last year.GET A QUOTE FOR BUSINESS FINANCEAs ever, we have seen a wide variety of different client situations that need support, such as:We have published some key materials recently,...
- 09 Feb
Court Of Appeal Ruling On Ban Of Assignment
A ruling has apparently just come from the UK Court of Appeal according to Out-Law.com (we can't give legal advice so you need to seek independent legal advice before acting on this).The court apparently upheld an earlier ruling that means that funders can be more confident in financing receivables where there is a ban on assignment in the terms of the client's customer."Ban on assignment" is a...
- 08 Feb
MarketInvoice Partners With Euler Hermes Credit Insurance
MarketInvoice have partnered with Euler Hermes, the global trade credit insurance company, to deliver credit insurance policies to their customers.MarketInvoice were established in 2011 and according to the latest update on their website, they have funded almost £1.9 billion of invoices in the UK. They offer both a selective invoice finance solution, a confidential invoice discounting option...
- 31 Jan
FundInvoice Exceeds 10 Million Funding Target
We are pleased to announce that the team at FundInvoice have exceeded our £10M funding target, and arranged £10.75 million of lending for clients.The facilites are spread across a large number of individual corporate clients, and we have dealt with the full range different size clients.Many facilities have been for small businesses, some have been as small as £15K, including a number that we...
- 25 Jan
97% Business Finance Approval Rate
FundInvoice have a strong record in terms of being able to find business finance for companies.We have just checked our records and we found that to date, we have a 97% business finance approval rate.That means that of every 100 prospects that we have dealt with, we have been able to find business finance for 97 or them, with only 3 being cases that we cannot help. This could have been for...
- 25 Jan
Amicus Commercial Finance Rebrands As Investec Capital Solutions
In the second rebranding within the invoice finance sector this week, Amicus Commercial Finance has rebranded as Investec Capital Solutions, with effect from 25th January 2018.Amicus was launched in 2015, and was acquired by Investec Bank plc on the 6th December 2017, hence the rebranding to complete their integration into the banking group.Their email to their introducers confirms that despite...
- 22 Jan
Factor 21 Changes Name To Advantedge Commercial Finance
The established, independent invoice finance company Factor 21 has changed its name to Advantedge Commercial Finance, with effect from 22nd January 2018. The name appears an interesting combination of the words “advantage” and “edge”.We understand that only the name and the look has changed, apparently everything else remains the same.The company has been established since 2001 and...
- 18 Dec
Merry Christmas 2017 From FundInvoice
The established, independent invoice finance company Factor 21 has changed its name to Advantedge Commercial Finance, with effect from 22nd January 2018. The name appears an interesting combination of the words “advantage” and “edge”.We understand that only the name and the look has changed, apparently everything else remains the same.The company has been established since 2001 and...
- 13 Dec
FundInvoice Are Finalists For Invoice Finance Broker Of The Year 2018
For the 4th year running FundInvoice have been confirmed as finalists in the Business Moneyfacts Awards. We have just received notification that we are finalists in the category for Invoice Finance Broker of the Year 2018.We would appreciate you submitting a testimonial for FundInvoice to be nominated as winners if you have dealt with us in any capacity. The judgeing process is all about the...
- 07 Dec
ABN AMRO Commercial Finance Merger Details
ABN AMRO Commercial Finance have just announced their intention to merge their commercial finance and their leasing businesses to form one company.Upon approval, the legal merger of the commercial finance and leasing businesses will take effect on 1st January 2018. The name of the combined legal entity will be "ABN AMRO Asset Based Finance N.V. UK Branch", wholly owned by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.They...
- 06 Dec
Investec Bank Plc Acquired Amicus Commercial Finance
It has just been announced that on the 6th December 2017, Amicus Commercial Finance was acquired by Investec Bank Plc. The details of the deal were explained in an email to their introducers and contacts.Apparently the Amicus Commercial Finance brand will be retained for the next few months, and the contact details for Amicus will remain the same. Thereafter, it the business will be integrated...
- 01 Nov
Paper Free Business (Almost)
At FundInvoice we are operating an (almost) paperless business model.I just completed my filing, everything that had built up over the last couple of years! It occurred to me that 90% of it is personal, bills, letters etc. and very little relates to FundInvoice. If fact we are operating an almost paperless business model. All our invoicing is email based, as are our written communication with...
- 21 Oct
Independent Invoice Finance Brokers
I was curious to read a recent stream of debate on LinkedIn about the "independence" of group of asset finance brokers that had a 48% stake in their business acquired by one of the lenders that they deal with.The debate has centred around whether or not that affects their right to say they offer an independent brokerage service. Looking at it objectively unless there is some underlying condition...
- 13 Oct
10 Top Tips For The Apprentice Candidates
The 2017 season of The Apprentice has barely started, and two episodes in the normal mistakes are being made whilst we sit screaming at the TV for someone to do what seems completely obvious. Just for fun we have come up with our top 10 tips for The Apprentice candidates, to help them avoid the same pitfalls they seem to fall into time, and time again. Many of them are also good advice for anyone...
- 08 Oct
Factoring & Commercial Finance Booms In The EU
Factoring and commercial finance volumes are booming in the European Union.A press release from the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association - 15/05/17) references figures from he EU Federation For The Factoring & Commercial Finance Industry (EUF) which showed that factoring and commercial finance volumes, in the EU, grey by 6.2% in 2016 to over 1.5 trillion Euros, a huge number that outpaces the...
- 13 Sep
Top Review For FundInvoice Invoice Finance Brokerage From IT Procurement Specialists
Another great review from another client who appreciated the impartial nature of the invoice finance brokerage service that we offer.The FundInvoice invoice finance brokerage service was recently used by an firm of IT procurement specialists who gave us the top, 5 star rating and had this to say about our service:"Many thanks to Sean for all his help in setting up our invoice finance agreement....
- 31 Jul
DueCourse In Administration
DueCourse Limited have apparently gone into Administration. according to FinExtra the invoice financing fintech platform raised £6.5 million of funding, but have since gone into Administration.A quick search at Companies House reveals that the company DueCourse Ltd, registration number 09205274 went into administration on 14 July 2017.The company filed accounts to September 2016 that showed a...
- 22 Jul
Half Price Bad Debt Protection
I have seen several speculative articles recently suggesting that the economy may be heading for a further downtown. Whether this is the case or not, time will tell.Bad debt protection is something that you might want to think about when you have any concerns over whether your customers will continue to be able to pay you, particularly if trading conditions do get tougher. One of our funding...
- 08 May
Do Tech Savvy People Under Value Recruitment Consultants
Do younger, tech savvy people tend to undervalue the use of recruitment consultants in finding a job?I recently commented on an interesting post on LinkedIn about why the recuitment process often fails to match the right people with the right jobs. Some of the issues that it blamed were over specific job descriptions and impersonal and excessive use of technology to sift through CVs in the...
- 12 Apr
How To Get A Business Loan
We are about to complete on another business loan for a client, the second commercial loan arranged in recent weeks. This one will enable a business acquisition, the previous one was to improve cash flow and enable the purchase of materials for an IT project.REQUEST A CALL ABOUT A LOANBoth loans are sizable lends, circa £100K each. One is over a 5 year term secured by way of a personal guarantee...
- 27 Mar
Invoice Finance Jobs For Recruitment Agencies Or Job Seekers
Working with a lot of people within the finance sector, we are often told about jobs that finance companies are seeking to recruit for.We thought it might help to post them onto this blog and add them to our monthly newsletter. So as we come across jobs we will share them here on the blog, and via FundingVoice magazine.You may want to subscibe to our free magazine below if you are:You can...
- 22 Mar
Is Business Loan Demand Increasing?
Demand for business loans may have increased recently, temporarily outstripping the demand for crowdfunding.Get help finding a business loan.Looking at the trend in Google's search traffic is a good way to measure demand. I have been looking at the volumes of search traffic, in the UK, for the terms "crowdfunding" (CF) and "business loans" (BL). When you look back prior to March 2014, the volume...
- 04 Mar
Assaulted on the train yesterday
Yesterday I was kindly invited by Bibby financial services to a charity dinner in London, with Sir Ian Botham and Geoff Miller as guest speakers (which was excellent by the way).On the way back Sean and I caught the train at London Bridge, and due to signal failure the platform was changed, and the train was very overcrowded. So I went past three or four doors before I could see any space to get...
- 16 Jan
Platform Black Rebrand to Sancus Finance Limited
Platform Black have rebranded today as Sancus Finance Limited. Sancus Finance is part of Sancus BMS Group Limited, ultimately owned by GLI Finance Ltd.Sancus provide a range of invoice trading and supply chain finance products, including specialist Eduction Finance:Updated News: Sancus Finance Supply Chain Division to Close Down for support please call Sean at FundInvoice on 03330 113622. ...
- 31 Dec
Happy New Year 2017 From FundInvoice
2016 has been a really successful year for us, with business growth and a significant increase in the number of subscribers to our business growth and invoice finance magazine. It has also seen us confirmed as finalists in the Business Moneyfacts awards 2017, for the third consecutive year, in the category of Best asset-based finance brokers. We were also finalists during 2016 in the 1066...
- 05 Dec
How To Keep Motivated
Following my presentation to the Pestalozzi International students, about Entrepreneurs, I received a follow up question from one of the students.I thought it was a great question that was worth publishing, especially as others may be asking the same thing - about how to keep motivated.This was the actual exchange between the student and I, regarding this question:Hi Glenn,It's the kid who asked...
- 14 Nov
Pestalozzi Entrepreneurs Talk
Back in the summer we met with Sue Walton, the CEO of the Pestalozzi children's charity, in Sedlescombe. They do some fantastic work, funding the eduction of exceptional students from all over the world. In fact, they fund not just education but everything for these children. The children often arrive from war torn countries, without even the basics, such as shoes.Pestalozzi also struggle to...
- 09 Nov
Trump Wins US Presidential Election - Trade Prospects With UK?
Donald J. Trump has made history by becoming the first US presidential election winner not to have served in public office, or the military. #Trump, from a business background, has been chosen by the American people, over a career politician (Secretary of State - Hilary Clinton), as the 45th President of the United States of America. There seems to be somehthing of a parallel with the Brexit...
- 12 Sep
Bibby Q2 SME Confidence Tracker Shows Minor Drop In Confidence
Bibby Financial Services' Q2 2016 SME Confidence Tracker survey shows a 3% drop (from Q1) in SME confidence that sales will grow in the next three months, down to 45%. Considering that Q1 2016 showed an increase in confidence, compared with Q4 2015, it is probably quite a positive result in light of the run up to the Brexit vote that took place at the end of Q2. Perhaps there will be light at the...
- 30 Jun
FundInvoice Nominated In 1066 Business Awards
Really pleased to be nominated as Finalists in the 1066 Business Awards again this year. This time we are in the category of Best Small Business 2016. Looking forward to the awards presentation dinner, later this month, at Bannatyne's Hotel....
- 05 May
#RBSTechTalk About Technology And Business Today
Really interesting #RBSTechTalk Twitter talk today, hosted by RBS, that covered technology and how it is affecting the business landscape. Lots about 3D printing, car safety technology and the role of social media.I took the opportunity to share one of our research findings, that only 1 in 3 businesses have a Twitter link on their website - something that shows how we need to do more to embrace...
- 29 Apr
#RBSmfgTalk Manufacturing Interesting Discussion Yesterday
The #RBSmfgTalk led to an interesting discussion yesterday about manufacturing, technology and health and safety. There was debate about the key issues facing the sector and I was able to highlight the extended payment terms that affect some sectors of manufacturing together with the high proportion of IF users that come from that sector. To read the various tweets just search Twitter with the...
- 13 Apr
New 5 Star Ratings For FundInvoice
New 5 star customer service ratings have been added to the FundInvoice ratings page. Anyone that deals with FundInvoice is welcome to contribute a rating out of 5 stars and a review comment. On average we have maintained an average 4.9 out of 5.0 star rating, which is very encouraging.One of the customers also made the following review comment: "Rating of 5, top class service from you"....
- 18 Mar
FundInvoice Confirmed As Finalists At The BMF Awards 2016
FundInvoice were pleased to be confirmed as awards "Finalists" at the 2016 Business Moneyfacts Awards last night, in the category of the Best Asset Based Finance Broker 2016....
- 16 Mar
Trademark Registered For FundInvoice
FundInvoice have successfully trademarked their name. Great news, after several months our application for a trademark has been granted....
- 16 Jan
Format For Invoices And Credit Notes
I have added example formats for invoices and credit notes to the credit control section of our site: Invoices And Credit Notes...
- 09 Dec
FundInvoice Finalist 2nd Year Running For Business MoneyFacts Awards
Great news! FundInvoice are "Finalists", for the second year running, in the Business MoneyFacts Awards 2016.The "Finalists" for Asset Based Finance Broker of the Year are (in no particular order):The BMF Awards winners were revealed at an evening awards dinner on 17 March 2016, held at the Lancaster London Hotel.Lee Tillcock, Editor of Business Moneyfacts, commented:'The last year has been...
- 15 Oct
The Apprentice 2015 On BBC 1 Last Night - Selling Fish to Vegans
Another season of Lord Sugar's #TheApprentice kicked off on BBC 1 last night. I love watching it, but the candidate selection seems to be skewed towards entertainment rather than business acumen. The normal round of overly self confident quotes ensued e.g. "I am a Swiss Army knife of business skills" and "I'm disgustingly ambitious", together with Ruth wearing a suit that looked like it had been...
- 13 Oct
FundInvoice is now on Instagram
FundInvoice is now on Instagram - so you can view all our photos, videos and infographics there: FundInvoice Instagram...
- 08 Sep
Peanut Tycoon's Son Conned Barclays To Pay Fake Invoices Worth £38m | Daily Mail Online
Horrific example of fresh air invoicing on a huge scale, against an invoice finance company (Barclays), covered by the Daily Mail Online today: Peanut tycoon's son conned Barclays to pay fake invoices worth £38m | Daily Mail Online.I have tweeted the Daily Mail Online about the typo that I think should have read "In this way money was obtained FROM Barclays by fraud" - rather than as it...
- 10 Aug
Ban On Assignment To Be Abolished
Great news for the invoice finance industry, the age-old issue of ban on assignment is to be abolished by the government. Ban on assignment is where large businesses prohibit their suppliers from using invoice finance. Ban on assignment to be abolished...
- 14 Jul
FundInvoice Finalists At The 1066 Business Awards 2015 - Bannatyne Spa Hotel Hastings
News article below regarding FundInvoice being nominated as finalists at the 1066 Business Awards 2015:News article - FundInvoice, Finalists At 1066 Business Awards 2015...
- 12 Jul
FundInvoice Finalists At The 1066 Business Awards 2015
Brilliant news! FundInvoice were confirmed as "Finalists" at the 1066 Business Awards 2015 on Friday night.The awards dinner was held on Friday at the Bannatyne Spa Hotel in St Leonards-on-Sea. The event was hosted by Danny Pike of BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey and the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) were headline sponsors.More details will follow....
- 30 Jun
5 Star Review From Invoice Finance Customer
FundInvoice received this 5 star rating and testimonial from an invoice finance customer: "I would rate your service 5 out of 5! After spending months trying to find the correct solution for my business, within a few days of speaking with Sean I was introduced to a company that offered me exactly what I need and at the right price, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him"....
- 27 Jun
Another 5 Star Customer Review About FundInvoice
"We used Sean Morrow of FundInvoice LLP to try and find us a better Invoice Financing deal than the one we were currently receiving through our bank. Sean did an excellent job introducing us to a number of different contacts who could offer us better deals than what we were getting. In the end our bank offered us a much better deal as they did not want to loose our custom. I would rate Sean 5...
- 25 Jun
Entry Submitted For 1066 Business Awards
FundInvoice's entry for the 1066 business awards 2015 has been submitted, for the category of best new start-up business.Our fingers are crossed once again!...
- 23 Jun
Secure SSL Certificate Added To FundInvoice Site To Reassure Customers
We have added a secure SSL certificate to the FundInvoice site, to help establish trust with customers and to reassure them when dealing with us: FundInvoiceYou will now see that a secure padlock appears in your browser when you access the FundInvoice site, which should give confidence to customers that deal with us....
- 05 Jun
FundInvoice Has The Best Website
Some interesting feedback from a web designer that we met at the business show. He was offering free website reviews too many of the visitors to the national exhibition.Apparently, the FundInvoice website was rated the best of all the websites that that he reviewed during the recent business show.Great news, our focus on delivering top quality content, rather than relying on cheap search engine...
- 26 May
Encouraging Reply From The Startups 100 List
A really encouraging reply from the team at the Startups 100 list, following our application to be considered for inclusion in the 2015 list::Disappointing not to enter the top 100 list but we were pleased to get such an encouraging reply.Next year!...
- 24 May
Metro Bank New Tunbridge Wells Branch
Metro Bank, parent of Metro SME Finance, has opened a new banking branch in Tunbridge Wells, bringing their total number of branches up to 35.Great launch event, held over the last couple of days, including performing dogs, stilt walkers and their own character dressed up. In addition they were handing out free Metro Bank branded bags to passers-by and money boxes for children. The branch design...
- 15 May
FundInvoice At The Business Startup Show 2015
Sean Morrow and I were pleased to attend the Business Startup Show and the Business Show 2015 yesterday: FundInvoice At Business Startup 2015Pictured above: Glenn Blackman and Sean Morrow of FundInvoice LLP...
- 30 Mar
Startups 100 2015 FundInvoice Entry Submitted
FundInvoice LLP has submitted its entry to be considered for inclusion in the Startups 100 list 2015. The application was based on the innovative research based approach that we have taken to the invoice finance brokerage market.The results will be announced in the spring.More finger crossing!...
- 27 Mar
FundInvoice With Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance At The BMF Awards 2015
Picture of Glenn Blackman and Sean Morrow from FundInvoice LLP with Steve Smith and David Willis of Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance, at the Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015. FundInvoice were finalists in the category of "Best Asset Finance Brokers" and Hitachi were Commended in the category "Best Factoring & Invoice Discounting Provider"....
- 19 Mar
Business MoneyFacts Awards Tonight
The results of the Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015 will be announced tonight at a gala dinner at the Lancaster Hotel in London.FundInvoice are one of just eight "Finalists" across the whole of the UK for the Best Asset Based Finance Broker Award 2015.Fingers crossed!...
- 11 Mar
Special Offer Extended
One of our funding partners has extended their special offer until 31st March 2015.The offer is for companies turning over between £500K and £1.5M pa:If you are interested in further details and the full terms and conditions please call Sean at FundInvoice on 03330 113622....
- 11 Mar
Business MoneyFacts Awards Are Coming Up
The Business MoneyFacts awards are coming up soon. The awards dinner is to be held on 19 March 2015 at the Lancaster hotel in London.FundInvoice are finalists for the award for the best asset based finance broker 2015, so our fingers are crossed for the 19th!...
- 02 Mar
Another 5 Star Client Review For FundInvoice
Another 5 star client review has been added to the FundInvoice reviews and ratings page: FundInvoice Reviews & RatingsAdd a review if you are a client or prospect, please see the ratings page for instructions about submitting your review and rating for publication on the site. All submitted reviews are published and are unaltered (except client names and finance company names are removed where...
- 27 Feb
Only 0.03% Of ABFA Clients Escalated To Ombudsman Process In A Year
According to the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association ) website, the Ombudsman complaints escalation process handled only 13 complaints during its first year. The Ombudsman process was established just over a year ago to deal with complaints from the 43,000 clients of its members. Apparently only 13 complaints, over the course of an entire year, reached the Ombudsman procedure, and of those 6...
- 18 Feb
Ban On Assignment Letter To ABFA From EU Federation Of Factoring & Commercial Finance
Below is a link to the letter sent to the ABFA fro the EU Federation of Factoring and Commercial Finance regarding ban on assignment:Letter to the ABFA From EU Federation of Factoring & Commercial Finance - Ban On AssignmentFor specific help regarding ban on assignment please contact Sean at FundInvoice on: 03330 113622...
- 29 Jan
Ratings Page Added To The FundInvoice Site
We have added a new ratings and reviews page to the FundInvoice site. Customer and prospects can submit a rating (out of 5) and a comment to be posted to the page without alteration.FundInvoice Ratings...
- 05 Dec
Vote For FundInvoice LLP in Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015
FundInvoice LLP are finalists for Best Asset Based Finance Broker of the Year 2015 in the Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015. ...
- 04 Dec
Google Plus Page For FundInvoice
We have set up a new page and customised URL on Google+ for FundInvoice: Google+ FundInvoice PageReviews are welcomed!...
- 28 Nov
FundInvoice Are Finalists In Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015
Great news! FundInvoice LLP are finalists for Asset Based Finance Broker of the Year in the Business MoneyFacts Awards 2015: FundInvoice Finalists In Business MoneyFacts 2015...
- 16 Sep
Testimonials From Well Known Banks And Invoice Finance Companies
I have added to the FundInvoice site a page of testimonials from well known banks and invoice finance companies to help clients feel assured that they are dealing with a bone fide organisation.They include testimonials and letters of thanks from:...
- 22 Aug
MarketInvoice Receivables Auction Site Joins Our Panel
MarketInvoice, the award winning receivables auction site, has joined our panel of invoice finance companies. Their invoice auction site allows clients to raise funding against unpaid sales invoices through access to a network of investors that bid to fund your invoices. If you want a quote from MarketInvoice, get in touch using the link on the right....
- 20 Jul
Small Businesses Paid Almost 50% Slower
A new piece of research by the ABFA shows that small businesses, with a turnover of less than £1 million per annum, are being paid almost 50% slower than bigger businesses. In an article: http://www.economicvoice.com/smallest-businesses-forced-to-wait-over-3-weeks-longer-for-payment-than-biggest-companies/ . . . their research was quoted as showing an average payment period of 71 days for...
- 19 Jul
MarketInvoice Exceeds £200M Invoices Funded Via Auction Platform
Congratulations to MarketInvoice, the invoice auction platform who report that they have now funded over £200M of sales invoices on their invoice auction site. Funding invoices via an auction site can be a good option for some businesses, especially where they are looking to raise short-term funding for particular batches of invoicing. If you think that an auction style invoice trading platform...
- 03 Jul
Retailer Finance For Shops And Restaurants
Our funding partners are now able to provide finance to retailers. The finance is based on historic receipts and the finance is collected from future income, over an agreed period. Retailers such as restaurants and shops can raise money through this source....
- 13 May
Metro Bank Opens Third New Branch This Year
Metro Bank, who recently purchased SME Invoice Finance (now Metro SME Finance), have just opened another new banking branch according to Best Advice, the third this year. Its good news that any bank is opening new branches but building the banking network is particularly good news for their invoice finance clients....
- 30 Apr
FundInvoice Entry Submitted To Startups 100 Index
FundInvoice has submitted its entry for consideration for the Startups 100 2014 index.The index lists the year's 100 most innovative, fast growing or forward thinking start ups....
- 24 Mar
New Article - Is Cashflow Forecasting For Me? By Simply Cashflow
The article states the case for the production of a cash flow forecast but also gives insights into the regularity with which you should prepare a forecast, the items that are often not taken into consideration, the inclusion or not of tendered work and the "cash runway" of the business.My thanks to Simply Cashflow for their ongoing support. They also produce a neat cloud based cash flow...
- 29 Nov
Funding Voice Magazine New Articles Available
New articles are now available under the Funding Voice Magazine section of our FundInvoice website. The articles cover reducing debtor days, invoicing, cash flow forecasting and advertising.You can find links to them all here: http://fundinvoice.co.uk/news/news_new_funding_voice_articles.html...
- 30 Oct
FundInvoice Invoice Finance Quote Search Website Launched
The new website for FundInvoice LLP, who provide a free, independent quotation search for invoice finance, factoring and invoice discounting, has launched!Just follow this link: http://www.fundinvoice.co.ukThe site includes details of how to register for the free "Funding Voice" magazine which will be published monthly and include articles, tips and advice about improving business cash flow. You...
- 30 Jul
London Loves Business Covers ABN AMRO Alternative Finance Roundtable
London Loves Business have covered the roundtable debate that I attended which discussed alternative funding options for SME businesses. The roundtable discussion included discussion about invoice finance as an alternative....
- 24 Apr
Bank Overdrafts Are Being Restrictive Or Unavailable - Invoice Finance Is Often The Solution
OK so it's not a statistically relevant sample size but I have just looked back through the last five cases of invoice finance deals we have completed that I have posted up on the blog and in 3 of the 5 cases there were issues with the existing bank overdraft either being restrictive against the funding needs of the business or not being available at all. Surprising just how common overdraft...
- 23 Apr
Free April 2013 Invoice Finance Newsletter Published & Available To Download
The latest edition of the free invoice finance newsletter is now available for you to download, free of charge:The latest edition of our newsletter includes the following articles: ...
- 31 Mar
The Cost Of Using An Invoice Auction Site
We have access to invoice auction sites for clients that want to fund their invoices in this way. The client posts one or more invoices onto the invoice auction site and seeks bids from funders to provide funding against those invoices.Clients are often interested to understand the cost of using an invoice finance auction site and one invoice auction site has recently published an average cost...
- 29 Mar
Invoice And All-Asset Finance Sector Funding 15% Of UK GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
I was just reading an interesting piece on the Business Money News site about their Receivables Report Intermediary Index (there is a link to it on the UK Invoice Finance Research group on Linkedin posted by Mark Byrne) but the thing that caught my eye was the comment from Bob Lefroy, the Editor of Business Money Magazine highlighting the fact that the invoice and all-asset finance sector...
- 26 Mar
Free Research To Support Your Public Relations Press Releases
You are welcome to use our #research results, with prior approval, free of charge to support your public relations press releases and online material providing you attribute the research to: "Glenn Blackman" and give a follow link to our blog: https://www.fundinvoice.co.uk/blog/blog.htmlSometimes its difficult to know what to write about if you write a blog or use the other social networking...
- 09 Jan
New Confidential Construction Finance Product Launched
Another of our finance partners has entered the construction finance arena and launched a new construction finance product.The product - Confidential Construction Finance - can provide up to 60% funding against a transaction, with the funding available against uncertified applications for payment if required. Our funding partner will fund from £50,000 up to £500,000 which could provide...
- 25 Oct
Deal Completed - Confidential Invoice Discounting For Transport & Warehousing Company
We were introduced to this prospect very late in the process to this Transport and Warehousing company after they had been working with a bank backed invoice discounter for 10 weeks trying to establish a Confidential Invoice Discounting facility. Within 48 hours of contacting us, the prospect had been visited by an independent invoice discounting company that we introduced and a few weeks later...
- 20 Oct
Another New Fixed Fee Invoice Finance Service Launched
Another of our invoice finance partners had launched its own fixed fee invoice finance service. A fixed fee service gives the client peace of mind as they know exactly what their charges are going to be each month which helps budgetting and prevents any surprises.This particular offering includes a 3 month service guarantee, one free CHAPS transfer each week and no re-factoring fees or charges....
- 19 Oct
Deal Completed - CID for Joinery Manufacturer
Confidential invoice discounting found for a client that wanted CID to fund their growth.The client was a joinery manufacturer turning over 1.2m pa but these days CID is available for pretty much all sizes of business.More CID deals to follow . . ....
- 15 Oct
New Cash Flow Finance Product Launched - Will Beat Your Existing Quote By 10%
One of our funding partners has just launched a new cash flow funding product, an alternative to overdraft, that is simple, has a single fee, a 6 month trial period and the options of confidentiality and bad debt protection.The product provides a business with 85% of their invoice value as soon as they raise the invoice - the remaining 15% (less their fee of between 0.95% and 2.95% dependent upon...
- 24 Sep
Deal Completed - Debt Collection Help
It's not always about rasing finance, some of the deals we work on just need help collecting in their old debts and invoices. We have recently completed such a facility for a business college that had significant levels of overdue debt from students who had not repaid their loans. We found them a debt collection agency that will help them with this significant credit control and debt collection...
- 11 Sep
Close Brothers Invoice Finance Launch Business Guide "Engaging Your People"
Close Brothers Invoice Finance, one of our funding partners, have released another free business guide "Engaging Your People".The guide covers:If you would like a quotation from Close Invoice Finance and/or any other invoice finance, factoring or invoice discounting companies please contact us.NOTE: THE GUIDE IS PRODUCED BY CLOSE BROTHERS INVOICE FINANCE A TRADING STYLE OF CLOSE INVOICE FINANCE...
- 11 Sep
Export CID Deal Completed - 100% Export Confidential Invoice Discounting
Confidential Export Invoice Discounting, where all the sales of a business are to overseas customers, is not commonly available but we have just completed such a facility, with one of our funding partners, for a client in the recruitment business turning over £2,000,000 per annum to debtors based abroad.Confidential Export Invoice Discounting allows the client to retain control of their...
- 11 Sep
Free Debtor Protection With Invoice Finance
We have just received notification of an offer from one of our invoice finance partners offering free debtor protection with invoice finance and confidential invoice finance for businesses with a turnover of up to £250,000.Bad debt protection will protect your business against non payment of invoices and could help you avoid taking a bad debt. The protection is 100% on approved debtors within a...
- 31 Aug
New Videos & Guerilla Guide To Working Capital From SME Invoice Finance
SME Invoice Finance, one of our funding partners, have just produced a "Guerilla Guide to Working Capital" which contains some useful advice to businesses regarding working capital. It includes advice about getting your invoices paid and credit control as well as a useful jargon buster for the invoice finance industry.To view the "Guerilla Guide to Working Capital" just download a copy of the PDF...
- 09 Jul
Radio 4 Article Commented On Lack Of Funding For Small Retailers
I heard an article on Radio 4 earlier today regarding the retail sector and specifically commenting on how difficult it is for small retailers to access funding as they tend not to be popular with banks for traditional forms of finance. This is very apt when I only just posted an article about a new product being offered by one of the invoice finance companies to fund small retailers up to 25K...
- 04 Jul
MarketInvoice Funds £20m Of Invoices Via Online Auction
MarketInvoice, the online invoice finance marketplace, has announced that it has auctioned over £20m of invoices since it started trading in February 2011, with over 100 businesses signed up to use the online platform to auction their sales invoices to investors.This type of funding can be attractive to customers that want to access funding against a particular block of invoices and want to...
- 02 Jul
Funding Product Launched For Retailers, Shops & Stores
Good news for retailers, shops and stores, one of our funding partners has launched a new finance product aimed specifically at retailers which enables them to receive a cash injection of up to £25,000 based on future sales. The facility is repaid, normally over 6 months, via credit card and debit card payments via the business' existing PDQ terminal....
- 22 Jun
NatWest Bank Problems
NatWest bank are apparently experiencing problems that are affecting large numbers of their customers.We have heard reports of customers experiencing delays with payments and there is likely to be a knock-on effect on the cash flow of businesses within the UK as NatWest is such a significant bank within the UK.If your business is experiencing cash flow problems due to this issue or if you...
- 01 Jun
Asset Finance, Leasing & Hire Purchase For Businesses
Forms of asset finance such as leasing and hire purchase help buisnesses acquire equipment, plant, machinery, vehicles and even computer equipment for use in their business by allowing them to spread the payments over a long period of time.We now work with an specialist asset finance organisation who can find that type of finance for businesses and we would be happy to put you in contact with...
- 31 May
Flexidraft An Alternative To Overdraft
Flexidraft has recently been launched by one of our funding partners as a flexible alternative to overdraft. There are no minimum fees and no minimum term for the facility to run which is good news for clients. The Flexidraft will provide up to £50,000 of finance based on funding at 50% of the average sales ledger balance, at rates that are very competitive with a conventional overdraft.If you...
- 10 May
Invoice Finance At 0% Over Base For 3 Months And No Set Up Fees
One of our invoice finance partners are currently offering new customers funding at 0% over base for the first 3 months of their facility and there are no set up fees involved. This funding partner will also accept up to 100% export debts and up to 100% of debts concentrated into a single customer....
- 22 Mar
Guaranteed Fuel Card For The Road Haulage Industry With Invoice Finance
One of our invoice finance partners has just launched a guaranteed fuel card for businesses in the road haulage industry. It is offered in conjunction with an invoice finance facility to overcome the issue of fuel cards being declined. Apparently the decline rate for conventional fuel cards can be 50% but this new guaranteed fuel card seeks to overcome that issue for road haulage businesses that...
- 17 Feb
Free 150K Cashflow Facility Competition
In an innovative marketing move one of the invoice finance companies has launched a competition for a 150K cashflow facility that is service charge and interest free for 1 year. To enter you must be a director of a company, under 40 years old and within 40 miles of Birmingham. There are only 9 days left to enter so if you are inerested please let us know....
- 16 Jan
100% Of Invoice Value Funded - Special Offer Just Launched
One of our finance partners has just launched a new special offer to appeal to small businesses. 100% funding against your invoices for businesses looking for a funding line of up to £50,000. They will of course make a charge for using the facility but this makes calculating your early payment/initial payment percentage very easy for small businesses.The offer is is for businesses that sign our...
- 10 Nov
New Product - Funding Against Credit & Debit Card Sales For Retailers
One of our funding partners has just launched a new retail sales funding product. The product enables retailers to receive funding against debit card and credit card payments from sales to their customers, bridging the funding gap for the client.For more details please contact us....
- 24 Aug
Just Joined Google+
I have just joined Google+For details follow the link: Google+...
- 16 Aug
Latest Free Invoice Finance Newsletter
This is a link to our latest free invoice finance newsletter including an offer on cost of funds for the first 3 months of any facility....
- 02 Aug
How Clients Suggest the Industry Promotes Invoice Finance
Below is the title of my latest invoice finance article published by Commercial Finance Today:How Clients Suggest the Industry Promotes Invoice Finance....
- 16 May
Factoring & Invoice Discounting The Solution For High & Fast Growth Businesses
Invoice finance facilities such as factoring and invoice discounting have always been seen as the solution for high growth businesses and this is confirmed by the ABFA (Asset Based Financing Association) statistics to December 2010.They show that amongst the ABFA's members their client businesses grew their sales by 11% over the previous year. This rate of growth is enormous compared with the...
- 11 May
Invoice Finance Latest Free Newsletter Available Online
Our latest invoice finance newsletter is now available online....
- 06 Oct
Interest Free Funds To The End Of The Year
News just in from one of our funding partners - they have put aside a significant amount of funds in order to provide clients with interest free funding until the end of the year....
- 21 Sep
Risk of UK Double Dip Recession Increases
I have been reading a variety of things on the web regarding the apparently rising possiblity of a double dip recession in the UK economy.House prices have fallen again for the third month running, the HMRC appear to be taking an tougher stance regarding VAT time-to-pay agreements (according to an email update recently received) and there is also talk of investors seeking defensive investments in...
- 20 Sep
Invoice Finance Product Launched For Very Small Businesses
There seems to be mounting interest in smaller businesses at last amongst the invoice financiers. Over the last couple of years there has been little on offer to small businesses but suddenly there are a number of products coming onto the market specifically for them.One such product has just been launched by a major bank that is one of our funding partners. The invoice finance product is...
- 17 Sep
Invoice Finance for Start-Up Businesses
One of our funding partners has a specialist invoice finance product for start-up businesses. The product has been tailored specifically to match the needs of a new start-up company and provides the following additional benefits in addition to the invoice finance itself for a fixed monthly administration fee:...
- 31 Aug
Absolute Invoice Finance Rebranded As Aldermore Invoice Finance
Notification has just been received that Absolute Invoice Finance (formerly known as Cattles Invoice Finance) have rebranded once again as Aldermore Invoice Finance, a division of Aldermore Bank PLC, who acquired the business last year....
- 12 Aug
How Big Could The Invoice Finance Market Become?
I have just written a piece for the Commercial Finance Today publication titled: "The Prize - The Potential Size of the UK Invoice Finance Market" that attempts to size the potential target market for invoice finance in the UK if some of the issues I set out in my last article were to be addressed.My article should be in this months edition of Commercial Finance Today from Commercial Finance...
- 10 Aug
Asset Based Lending Industry Loses Another 347 Clients In Q1 2010
Statistics from the ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association) for the first quarter of 2010 show that their members recorded an overall net decrease in client numbers of 347 during the quarter.These figures include members clients using the following products: domestic factoring, domestic invoice discounting, export and mixed export & domestic, import factoring, stock finance and ABL (asset based...
- 05 Aug
The Secret To Selling More Invoice Finance
My article "The Secret To Selling More Invoice Finance" has just been published on the Commercial Finance Today website.The article sets out a summary of the feedback we have captured from numerous clients that we have spoken to over recent years. In the article I outline the key changes that would be required to rapidly increase the number of factoring and invoice discounting clients....
- 20 Jul
How Poor Credit Control Can Lose You Customers
I have just seen first hand the perfect example of how poorly organised credit control can lose you a customer.We bought some goods from a small local company at the end of last year. The product was excellent and until this morning I have taken every opportunity since to sing their praises and recommend them to other people.Almost 5 months ago now they phoned to say that we hadn't paid their...
- 15 Jul
The Secret To Selling More Invoice Finance Facilities
I am sure that is a question that many invoice finance companies would like answered!Well, I have had a bash at putting together another article for the next issue of Commercial Finance Today called "The Secret To Selling More Invoice Finance" which attempts to answer that question by setting out what prospective invoice finance customers seem to say they want from invoice finance. I will post a...
- 08 Jul
Getting Innovation, Design & New Inventions to Market
I have just had a fascinating meeting with someone who has come up with a brilliant, innovative new invention. Like so many inventions it was born of personal necessity but as with so many "inventors" he is stuck at the design stage, faced with either having to trust a business to develop his idea for him or trying to negotiate the complexity, and expense, of patent law himself.There are so many...
- 07 Jul
Symbiotic Versus Parasitic Business Models
Dictionary.com defines "symbiotic" as "any interdependent or mutually beneficial relationship between two persons, groups, etc."It defines "parasitic" as the behaviour of a parasite, which it goes on to define as: "a person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others."These are...
- 23 Jun
June 2010 Budget Implications
Following the chancellor's June 2010 Budget announcement yesterday, attention now turns to the implications on the UK economy.Some of the key aspects, that will impact the economy, from the June 2010 budget, were the rise in VAT from January 2011 from 17.5% to 20% and the cut in government departmental budgets by 25%. Whilst these measures are undoubtedly necessary to reduce the UK's huge budget...
- 15 Jun
Football World Cup Surprise Result
With the football World Cup in full swing we were expecting our flow of factoring and invoice discounting enquiries to dry up, as people took time off to watch the world cup on TV! Surprisingly, the converse has been true - in the last few days we have seen a surge in the number of new invoice finance enquiries which has been an unexpected surprise result!Let's hope that England win - that would...
- 07 May
More Uncertainty For UK Businesses Due to Hung Parliament & Greek Economic Issues
The uncertainty for UK businesses has multiplied yet again with the news of a hung parliament in the 2010 UK general election. With no one party being able to command a majority in the house of commons the prospects seem remote that there will be a stable alliance formed although its obviously too early to tell for sure - the likelyhood is that the UK will face another general election in the...
- 19 Apr
The Unexpected Effects Of The Icelandic Volcanic Ash Clouds
There has been much comment in the press about the coulds of Icelandic volcanic ash, currently above the UK, which have brought our aviation industry to a standstill. This will undoubtedly have a dramatic effect upon the airlines but they will not be the only businesses that are affected, there is a supply chain domino effect that will also come into play.It will not only be the airlines and...
- 09 Mar
21% of Businesses Refused Bank Credit Not Told Why
Just read in Business Money that Graydons UK have conducted some research and found that 21% of businesses that are refused credit by a bank are not told why by the bank! Staggering!...
- 05 Mar
What Is It With Medication Spammers!
Yet another stream of posts deleted about prescription medications from the usual spammers! There is no way I am going to allow your comments to publish so why not save yourselves some time :o)...
- 16 Feb
Newsletter Format Updated
The brief is written for this months newsletter but we have made a few changes.We felt the format was a little too sales focused so we have changed the format to bring readers more information, tips and advice about cash flow issues....
- 14 Jan
HMRC "Time to Pay" Scheme
At the end of last year there was much speculation about the impact of the withdrawal of the HMRC's "Time to Pay" scheme, that has allowed 160,000 businesses additional time to pay their outstanding tax liabilities and VAT. This was followed by the announcement from the government that the "Time to Pay" scheme is to be extended for "as long as is needed".This prompts the question - as to exactly...
- 16 Mar
Michael Jackson - the Answer to All Our Economic Problems!
I have just read about the huge demand for tickets to the concerts of the century, Michael Jackson's "This Is It" shows at the O2 arena. Reports over the last week have suggested 750,000 people registering for tickets that have a face value of £50 - 75 with the secondary resale market offering them for vastly inflated sums such as £500, £1,050 and even one report of a single ticket being...
- 04 Mar
Overdrafts being converted to loans?
The British Bankers' Association recently released figures showing that the amount lent to small businesses through overdraft fell at the end of 2008 by £457 million in the same period the amount lent on term loans (a loan with a fixed period and potentially more security and fees) rose by £220 million.These figures suggest two things. Firstly that there may have been a movement in bank lending...
- 30 Oct
Changes By Banks To Overdrafts and Loans
I received an email from the Federation of Small Businesses today advising that they are meeting with 6 commercial lenders in Sussex. The meeting is to discuss the issues that their members are experiencing due to unilateral changes by the banks to overdrafts and loans.We have also heard of some examples of this. I was talking to someone the other day that had their credit limit drastically...
- 29 Oct
Economic Domino Effect?
Yesterday brought the news that Iceland are raising their banking base rate by a massive 6% to 18% as the IMF (International Monetary Fund) inject funds to rescue the country's economy. Other eastern european economies seem to be similarly struggling. Is it possible that we could see a domino effect if these weaker countries did start to collapse that would ripple across the globe?Everything...
- 01 Oct
$700 Billion US Banking Bailout
At the moment the US are renegotiating the proposed $700 billion bailout of the US banking sector which has been broadly heralded as essential to return to stability. Bank lending to US borrowers that couldn't afford it (the "credit crunch") is widely attributed as the cause of the current situation.My concern for the UK market is what about the large amount of unsecured debt that has been amased...
- 28 Jul
Welcome to Glenn Blackman's Invoice Finance Blog . . .
I am Glenn Blackman, welcome to my blog. I run a businesses that is involved with the brokerage of invoice finance facilities such as factoring and invoice discounting and market research....
