Invoice finance provider, Bibby Financial Services (BFS), has increased its funding for mid-market businesses by agreeing a new three year, £50m bi-lateral facility with Royal Bank of Scotland Invoice Finance (RBSIF).
This facility sits alongside, and in addition to, the existing UK securitisation facility of £630m which BFS agreed with Barclays Bank PLC – Corporate Banking and Investment Banking, Bank Of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC Bank PLC and Lloyds Bank back in November 2015. This facility was recently extended until the end of March 2020.
David Postings (pictured), global chief executive for BFS, says the new bi-lateral facility will continue and extend the funder’s support for businesses in the £5m+ turnover market.
He said: “Our focus on supporting and funding the UK’s SMEs remains undented. Mid-market businesses with a turnover £5m+ have been a real area of growth for BFS. We have increased funding for mid-market businesses by 12% over the past year as we have concentrated our expertise on this segment. Our long term securitisation and bi-lateral facilities are testament to the commitment we have made to ensure that UK businesses have the funding they need that will unlock their businesses’ potential.”
As a result of this bi-lateral facility, BFS has now committed funds of £900m to UK SMEs. The facility will also enable BFS to support a wider asset based lending (ABL) product providing funding against inventory and accounts receivable, as well as allowing the funding of non-UK debt.
Posting said: “Uncertainty over the future direction of the UK economy is hampering businesses’ ability to plan and execute their long term business plans. Through this facility we are able to provide mid-market businesses with security of funding, especially those that trade and incur non-UK debt, therefore helping UK plc to go to the markets where they can exact the most growth.”
Andy Pickford, development director at RBSIF, added: “We are delighted to be supporting BFS with this additional facility, which in turn will support an important segment of the UK MME market. Bibby Line Group and BFS have both been long standing customers of RBS, and we are pleased to have been mandated to provide this new facility.”