New figures released by UK Finance have revealed a 5% increase in invoice finance and asset-based lending in 2017, taking the total to £23.4 billion at the end of the year. The number of clients using this form of business funding remained stable at around 42,000.
The figures also revealed that:
- Invoice finance and asset-based lending to small businesses (those with annual turnovers of less than £500,000) increased by 19% in December 2017 compared to the previous year, with advances worth a total of £833 million.
- Annual sales of clients supported by invoice finance and asset-based lending stood at a record £311 billion in 2017, up 4% on 2016.
- Annual sales from clients through export invoice discounting facilities stood at £27 billion in 2017, up 21% on 2016.
“These figures show a continuing increase in the use of invoice finance and asset-based lending, particularly amongst smaller firms,” commented Matthew Davies, Director of Invoice Finance and Asset Based Lending at UK Finance. “This reflects a growing appetite for finance amongst those small businesses that are already using external funding.”
“These forms of finance can provide extra flexibility and improved liquidity for firms, unlocking working capital to help them grow and invest as well as allowing them to support their own suppliers,” he added. “The industry will continue to work to increase awareness amongst businesses about the different sources of finance that might be appropriate for them.”
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