Invoice finance facility from Ultimate Finance leads to exceptional growth for courier company
Kenilworth-based Rothwell Logistics is experiencing growth of 400% per quarter helped by an invoice factoring facility provided by Ultimate Finance.
The company, which is in the process of being renamed Mail2Freight Ltd, arranges the delivery of everything from envelopes to shipping containers. It started trading almost two years ago and has grown rapidly through recommendations and word of mouth.
In just the first quarter of year two, business matched the turnover and doubled the profit of the first year’s trade, and growth is increasing with additional services such as ‘storage’ and ‘pick & pack’ being offered. It has now been offered a £1.9m contract to provide a total despatch management solution for a Coventry based firm, who approached them after recommendation.
It had reached a point where the company was forced to turn business away, as it had to pay its carrier suppliers within seven days, with customers wanting 14-30 days or more to settle invoices. This resulted in a huge strain on cashflow to the point where the company was reliant on being supplemented from personal funds, restricting the growth.
The factoring facility, which includes bad debt protection, means the invoices issued to customers are paid by Ultimate Finance almost immediately, enabling Rothwell Logistics to pay the suppliers without needing huge reserves of cash.
It is now able to take on more business including the £1.9m contract, which it would never have been able to consider without invoice finance.
Founder of the company, Naomi Rothwell-Smith, was initially put off invoice finance after being advised it was associated with companies in financial trouble.
Naomi said:
“I can’t believe how wrong the misconception is about factoring. We are a growing company and there’s no way we could have taken on any more new contracts without the facility in place.
“We looked at mainstream lenders but they made both the initial application and ongoing processes so complicated, whereas Ultimate Finance kept every step simple. They complete the credit checks on our customers, insure the debt and chase up the payments; enabling our team to get on with running the business.
“With cash freed up we are now pleased to be able to provide further support to our smaller customers by offering them better prices and 30 day payment terms, which they can’t get direct from national couriers.”
Regional director of Ultimate Finance, Simon Hooks, had no hesitation in supporting Rothwell Logistics, he said:
“The company has done an excellent job in building a very successful business purely through referrals and recommendations. It would not have been offered a contract of almost £2m if they had not developed a reputation for providing an excellent service at the right price.
“Naomi and her team work extremely hard and thoroughly deserve the phenomenal growth they are enjoying.”
Photo caption: Simon Hooks, Ultimate Finance with Naomi Rothwell-Smith, Rothwell Logistics
