Bibby Financial Services grows market share further in 2016
Bibby Financial Services, the UK’s largest independent invoice finance provider, has increased its share of the factoring market further in 2016, to 21%.
Up to December, BFS welcomed more than 1180 new clients, advancing over £458m. In addition to strong growth in factoring client numbers, the financier increased the number of clients it supports with invoice discounting facilities by 13%.
Edward Winterton, commercial director, said:
“We’ve had a fantastic year, starting with our jump to 31st place in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For. Throughout 2016 we have continued to boost our support for UK PLC, despite volatile trading conditions following the EU referendum.
“We’re now writing one in six of all factoring deals in the UK and are outperforming much of the market. In addition to growth in factoring, we have significantly increased invoice discounting and trade finance client numbers over the past year in a relatively flat market.
Edward continued:
“Our corporate team has also had tremendous success in structuring funding packages that combine our expertise in invoice finance, Trade and asset finance, along with our new foreign exchange services for clients. Adding FX services to our product portfolio has enabled us to support our clients trading overseas and protect against currency fluctuations, which has been a key concern for many businesses this year.
“These results are a fantastic achievement and testament to the hard work of our teams across the country, as well as the strength of the relationships we have built with the intermediary community.”
Across BFS’s product portfolio, which includes invoice finance, trade finance, foreign exchange and asset finance, the financier supports more than 7,000 businesses throughout the UK. Earlier this month, the funder announced the relocation of its global headquarters to Pembroke House, Banbury Business Park.
Figures come as latest figures from the Asset Based Finance Association’s show funding advanced to UK SMEs through asset based finance reaching £20.7bn in the third quarter of the year – an all-time high.
Edward added:
“2016 has been a time of enormous change for UK SMEs with pensions auto-enrolment, the introduction of the new National Living Wage and – of course – the EU referendum.
“What is clear is that businesses are looking to new sources of funding to plan for the future and grow. What the latest statistics show is that more and more business – of all shapes and sizes – are turning to types of finance like factoring and invoice discounting to unlock working capital for growth. I’m delighted that Bibby Financial Services continues to play a vital role in the growth of such finance types and look forward to another strong year ahead in 2017.”
