Close Brothers Invoice Finance

Close Brothers provides lending, deposit taking, wealth management and securities trading services to UK small businesses.

Its funding services include a variety of invoice finance solutions and asset based lending, which can help you release capital locked up in unpaid invoices.

It also offers bad debt protection, which can protect your business if a customer fails to settle their invoices.

Discover how Close Brothers invoice finance could help your business, check whether your business is eligible and learn how to apply.

Who are Close Brothers?

Founded by William, Fred, and James Close in 1878, Close Brothers is a UK merchant banking group that specialises in providing financial support to small businesses, including lending, deposit taking, wealth management and securities trading.

Close Brothers is a FTSE250 company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It employs 3,700 people.

» COMPARE: Invoice finance deals

What services do Close Brothers Invoice Finance offer?

Close Brothers offers invoice discounting, invoice factoring, and asset based lending. It also provides a range of supplementary services, including bad debt protection, Liquidity Plus, and facilitates the Coronavirus Government Loans Schemes.

Invoice discounting

Close Brothers Invoice discounting allows your business to release up to 90% of the value of unpaid invoice without alerting your client that you’re using the service.

Unlike with invoice factoring, your business remains responsible for the collection of outstanding payments. Once the invoice is settled, you receive the remaining balance minus a fee.

To be eligible for invoice discounting, your business must meet the following criteria:

• Your invoices are business to business (B2B)
• You have a minimum turnover of £500,000 per year
• You’re interested in financing all of your invoices, not just the occasional one

Invoice factoring

Close Brothers Invoice factoring also allows your business to access 90% of the value of an unpaid invoice.

The key difference between invoice factoring and discounting is that, with factoring, Close Brothers’ credit management team manages the collection of payments on your behalf, meaning it is not confidential.

If you don’t mind your clients being aware that you’re using an invoice financing service, this can free up time to focus on your business rather than chasing payments. There will be a higher fee for this service.

The eligibility criteria are the same.

Asset based lending

Asset-based lending is a financing solution for larger businesses that need higher levels of capital for large scale operational plans.

With asset-based lending, you release funding against business assets, such as stock, property, plant and machinery. Close Brothers asset based lending can be tailored to your unique situation, and allows you to raise between £1m and £50m.

In order to use this service, your business must have more than £5m in turnover.

» COMPARE: Asset financing

Bad debt protection

If you’re a Close Brothers Invoice Finance customer, you can add bad debt protection to your factoring or discounting facility.

Bad debt protection ensures you’ll receive up to 100% of what’s owed to you if a customer is insolvent and unable to pay their invoice.

You also get access to Close Brothers’ credit management team, who can help you to identify potential risks with new or existing customers.

Liquidity Plus

Liquidity Plus allows you to top up your invoice discounting facility in order to access 100% prepayment on the value of an invoice.

To be eligible for Liquidity Plus, you must have a projected turnover of more than £500,000 a year.

Which industries do Close Brothers Invoice Finance cover?

Close Brothers Invoice Finance covers the following industries:

• Construction
• Engineering
• Food and drink
• Manufacturing
• Print and packaging
• Recruitment
• Retail
• Services
• Technology
• Transport and haulage
• Wholesale and distribution

How can I get funding from Close Brothers Invoice Finance?

You can enquire about getting Close Brothers Invoice Finance by calling 0808 163 4947 or filling in the online form. As its invoice finance solutions are tailored to the situation of each individual business, pricing is bespoke.

What do their customers say?

Close Brothers has been rated and reviewed by thousands on Trustpilot, with 3.7 out of 5 based on 4,294 reviews.

What do our nerds say?

Close Brothers offers a variety of invoice financing solutions for small, medium, and large businesses that want to free up working capital, improve liquidity, or invest in growth.

Provided your business is turning over at least £500,000 a year, you can make use of Close Brothers invoice discounting and factoring services to access up to 90% of the value of an unpaid invoice. And with Liquidity Plus, you can free up that extra 10% for when you need a bigger cash injection.

If you’re a larger business with more than £5 million turnover, you can use asset based lending to access up to £50 million to invest in large-scale strategic plans.

If you decide to use Close Brothers invoice finance to access funding, make sure to speak to an adviser about fees, terms, and which solution is best for your particular requirements to make sure you’re getting the right deal for your business.

Close Brothers Invoice Finance FAQs