Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has revealed that June was its best month on record since August 2012, as the specialist funder welcomed over 130 new clients, advancing more than £430m to businesses.
David Postings, BFS’s global chief executive, said: “This is a fantastic result for us and demonstrates that we’re very much open for business at a time when SMEs need support to drive their businesses forward.”
Performance in June was driven by strong growth in factoring, in addition to a steady flow of funding agreements for Forward Finance, BFS’s product for businesses with turnover of up to £300,000.
“Our teams across the country had a fantastic month and we have seen particular growth in factoring, trade finance and our smaller business product Forward Finance. Deals have been bolstered by direct sales, in addition to a strong pipeline of introduced business so I’d like to thank our intermediary partners for their ongoing support.” Postings added.
The results come in the wake of wide-spread reports of declining SME confidence and a potential funding gap, following the UK’s vote to leave the EU on 23 June 2016.
Postings said: “There’s clearly some uncertainty in the market following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, but what we need now is clarity and pragmatism. UK SMEs are resilient and many have put plans in place for either event.
“What is clear is that asset based funders are best placed to help SMEs to plan for the future and take advantage of opportunities that arise.
“It is very much business as usual for us and we will continue to support SMEs, wherever they are, through our relationship-based approach and specialist funding solutions.”