New data from Time Finance reveals that invoice finance is becoming increasingly popular among UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as they seek to stabilise their finances.
Among alternative finance solutions, 32% of financial intermediaries predict invoice finance to be the most popular service to support cash flow in 2023.
The data is part of a large-scale review by Time Finance to better understand the financial challenges facing businesses and tailor solutions to meet their needs.
The review also highlights the impact of late customer payments, with SMEs owed an average of £250k in unpaid invoices and some waiting up to 120 days for payment.
Phil Chesham, managing director of invoice finance at Time Finance, commented: “We are seeing a real uplift in businesses that come to us for invoice finance, and this is definitely a trend we expect to see continue throughout 2023.
“At face value, this is an indicator of the cashflow challenges that businesses are experiencing, but looking at this more positively, we can take this as a sign that more businesses are discovering the real value of invoice finance.”
Norwich-based energy consultancy Indigo Swan has benefitted from a six-figure invoice finance facility with Time Finance, which has enabled the acceleration of investment in sustainability and support for the UK’s decarbonisation journey.
James Groves, managing director of Indigo Swan, said: “As a small business, it’s been challenging to secure the funding we need from traditional lending routes, and for us, it felt important to partner with a funder that listens to, understands and has confidence in our ambitions.”
