Skipton Business Finance is delighted to be a member of ABFA (Asset-Based Finance Association), a group made up by the vast majority of respected UK asset-based lenders. ABFA regularly documents the latest facts and figures relating to the volume of invoice finance its members are seeing. Here are our top 10 invoice finance facts from its latest release, which show just how awareness of flexible funding solutions for UK businesses has risen dramatically in recent years:
- There have been five quarters of continued growth in amount of advances issued through invoice finance facilities such as factoring and invoice discounting.
- In 2010, across the invoice finance industry as a whole, over £200 billion worth of cash was funded via factoring or invoice discounting facilities.
- Almost £15 billion worth of cash was advanced up-front to clients using factoring or invoice discounting facilities in return for their unpaid invoices in 2010, up from £13.6 billion in 2006.
- The amount of cash funded through invoice finance lending solutions such as factoring or invoice discounting rose by 22% between 2006 and 2010 and the asset-based lending industry as a whole grew by 11% in 2010.
- Factoring is the most popular form of invoice finance in the country in terms of the number of clients.
- By the end of 2010, there were 18,894 businesses with factoring facilities in the UK.
- Invoice discounting is the most popular form of invoice finance in the country in terms of cash funded.
- There were 17,466 businesses using invoice discounting facilities at the end of 2010.
- As of 2010, cash funded through invoice discounting was almost £180 billion and the manufacturing industry accounted for a large number of clients using this flexible facility.
- 31% of factoring and invoice discounting clients can be found in the manufacturing industry (as of end of 2009).