£10m mark hit by group that helps SMEs unlock cash

The total value of invoices sold to investors via MarketInvoice grew from £8m in September to hit the £10m mark in October.

Since the start of the year, the company said it has seen the total value of invoices financed grow by an average rate of 20 per cent month-on-month.

SMEs have accessed more than £85m in working capital via MarketInvoice since its launch in February 2011, the firm said.

Investors buy the long-dated invoices at a discount, so the SME unlocks the funding within days as opposed to having to wait for the invoice to be paid.

The discount fee charged by the investors is around one per cent of the value of the invoice, said MarketInvoice. Meanwhile, MarketInvoice charges sellers a processing fee of between 0.75 to 2.5 per cent of the invoice sold.

Customers are located all over the UK and range from cupcake makers and marketing agencies, to software developers and suppliers of niche industrial parts.

The largest single invoice to be sold through MarketInvoice in October was £1m, the company said.

Viv Parry, of Leeds-based Exquisite Handmade Cakes, has accessed funding through MarketInvoice by selling invoices.

She said the funding received has helped the business grow quickly over the last few months.

Ms Parry said: “As a business owner it’s hugely refreshing to have access to a funding solution that is fast, transparent and is one that I’m in total control of.”

Exquisite Handmade Cakes supplies via a national network of distributors to customers including contract caterers, sandwich shops, cafes, schools, hospitals and hotels. Anil Stocker, founder of London-based MarketInvoice said: “Everyday we talk to young and ambitious British SMEs who despite tough conditions are straining at the leash to grow.

“The companies we are supporting are the lifeblood of our economy and will be the drivers of its recovery and we’re therefore proud to be offering a new solution to the ongoing funding problems that they face.

“We still have much to do but our first £10m month is testament to the quality of our risk processing technology, the desire amongst our investors to back UK SMEs and the speed and certainty of funding that we are offering those selling invoices through us.”

Earlier this year, MarketInvoice announced that as part of the Government’s Business Finance Partnership, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills had committed an initial £5m to channel to UK SMEs using MarketInvoice.