NIC Services Group grows its business with invoice finance from Siemens Financial Services
Family-run facilities management and cleaning company NIC Services Group will more than double its funding limit in a new invoice finance deal with Siemens Financial Services (SFS).
NIC Services Group had been using invoice finance from a high street bank since 2004 to borrow against invoice value and preserve cash flow but when the company wanted to increase its funding limit in line with business growth the bank became inflexible. It viewed the increase in borrowing as an increase in risk and began to change its terms and conditions, a shift that would negatively impact NIC’s business.
As Simon Tidswell, group financial director at NIC Services Group explains, “In our industry, invoice finance is essential. Typically 70% of our costs are staff, and customers are taking longer to pay, so borrowing against the invoice value facilitates cashflow.”
NIC Services Group had a pre-existing relationship with SFS as the company uses asset finance to acquire cleaning machinery. The SFS asset finance team mentioned the invoice finance provision to NIC Services Group, who met with the team to offer their expertise.
“The SFS team not only offered a solution to meet NIC’s needs but it was also reassuring to work with a recognised and trusted name,” says Simon. “Despite their experience in the industry, we were surprised to discover that SFS has a refreshingly different approach in terms of forming customer relationships.
“The people from SFS that came to meet us were the ones who make the decisions rather than ‘just’ sales people. They took the time to understand the business and meet the directors.”
With SFS, NIC Services Group now benefits from having a more sophisticated invoice finance system, which is quick and easy to use. Unlike their previous provider’s system which could take up to 24 hours to update, the SFS solution updates in real time and provides much faster access to funds .
Pulin Trivedi, Invoice Finance head of sales – North East, Siemens Financial Services, adds: “By taking the time to get to know Simon and the business, we were able to understand the associated risks and offer the best possible invoice finance deal for the company. We look forward to seeing NIC Services Group grow with us for years to come.”