If your business sells on credit terms and regularly finds itself waiting 30, 60, or 90 days for customers to pay, invoice factoring is worth understanding properly. It is one of the more practical working capital tools available to UK SMEs - and the right provider can make a significant difference to how smoothly your business operates day to day.
This guide profiles five invoice factoring companies currently operating in the UK market, covering what each offers and who they are likely to suit, followed by a plain-English explanation of how factoring works and what to look for before you sign.
5 Invoice Factoring Companies Operating in the UK
1. Novuna Business Cash Flow
When searching for invoice factoring companies UK, Novuna Business Cash Flow is worth considering given the breadth of its product offering and sector coverage.
Novuna is part of Mitsubishi HC Capital UK - one of the largest asset finance groups in Europe - which gives it considerable financial backing. For businesses entering into a factoring arrangement, the stability of your provider matters: this is a relationship that touches your sales ledger and your customer interactions, and you want confidence it will remain consistent over time.
Their factoring offering covers the full range of commercial sectors, with specialist experience in recruitment and staffing (including PAYE processing support), construction (including contra charge arrangements), logistics and haulage, and wholesale and distribution. Advance rates are up to 90% of eligible invoice value, with funding available within 24 hours once a facility is established.
Novuna operates a relationship-led service model - clients are assigned a dedicated relationship manager rather than being managed through a centralised contact centre. For businesses where the quality of customer-facing credit control matters, this is a meaningful practical consideration.
Their pricing is structured around a service charge as a percentage of turnover and a discount charge on funds drawn down. As with any provider, it is worth requesting a full illustration of all charges before proceeding.
Who this may suit: businesses with turnover from £500k upward, particularly in staffing, construction, logistics, and manufacturing, and those looking for a single provider able to support multiple working capital facilities under one relationship.
2. Bibby Financial Services
Bibby Financial Services is one of the UK's largest independent invoice factoring providers, with over 40 years of experience and a network of offices across the country. They support businesses across more than 300 sectors, with particular depth in transport and haulage, manufacturing, construction, and recruitment.
Their factoring facilities advance up to 90% of eligible invoice value within 24 hours, and their credit control team manages collections on the client's behalf. For recruitment businesses specifically, they offer a dedicated Recruitment Finance product that includes optional payroll support alongside the factoring facility.
Their product range caters to businesses at different stages - including products for those at an earlier stage of growth - with contract options that include fixed-term agreements or a rolling 30-day notice arrangement depending on the facility and circumstances.
Who this may suit: businesses at a range of sizes and stages, from growing SMEs through to established companies, particularly those in transport, manufacturing, construction, and recruitment.
3. Aldermore Invoice Finance
Aldermore is a UK bank that has built a strong presence in the SME invoice finance market since its founding in 2009, with a focus on providing practical, relationship-driven factoring to businesses across a wide range of sectors.
Their factoring facilities advance up to 90% of eligible invoice value within 24 hours, and include a full credit control service managed by an experienced in-house team. Clients are assigned a dedicated relationship manager and have access to a network of regional offices across the UK. Their online portal - E3 - allows clients to manage their account, upload invoices, and view available funding in real time.
Aldermore's sector coverage includes business services, distribution, recruitment, engineering, transport and logistics, manufacturing, wholesale, construction, and importing. They have a particular reputation in construction finance, where they can accommodate application-for-payment invoicing and work with quantity surveyors and sector specialists where needed.
Their general minimum turnover requirement for invoice finance is £750,000, though their intermediaries page notes they can consider businesses from £500,000 to £750,000 in certain circumstances. Pricing is structured around a service charge and a discount fee, agreed upfront with your relationship manager.
Who this may suit: established UK businesses with turnover from £500,000 upward, particularly those in construction, manufacturing, engineering, and logistics who want bank-backed financial stability combined with a hands-on service model.
4. Skipton Business Finance
Skipton Business Finance is part of the Skipton Building Society Group and has been active in the invoice finance market for close to 25 years. They are notable for working with businesses at a wider range of stages than many providers - from start-ups through to established companies with high turnovers - and for taking a more flexible approach to underwriting than traditional banks.
On the factoring side, Skipton offers a standard invoice factoring facility advancing up to 90% of eligible invoice value, alongside their Skipton Select product - an interest-free factoring arrangement where clients pay a single flat service charge based on turnover rather than a daily discount rate. For businesses that want greater cost predictability, the Select structure removes the variability that comes with traditional discount-rate pricing.
Their LedgerLite product, while not a full factoring arrangement, is worth noting for businesses that are not yet ready for a whole-ledger commitment - it provides access to a percentage of monthly invoiced turnover with a simpler setup.
Sectors they are active in include manufacturing, recruitment, transport and logistics, and printing.
Who this may suit: businesses at various stages of growth - including start-ups and newer businesses that may find access harder elsewhere - as well as established SMEs looking for predictable fee structures.
5. Satago
Satago takes a different approach to the others on this list. Rather than a traditional full-ledger factoring arrangement with a credit control team managing your collections, Satago is a technology-led platform that connects directly to your accounting software - including Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, and over 300 other platforms - and allows you to finance invoices selectively or across your full ledger through a single interchangeable facility.
Their selective product has no long-term contract and no minimum volume commitment. Their full invoice finance product maintains a live connection to your accounting software, automatically displaying eligible invoices and updating your facility limit in real time without manual reconciliation. To be eligible, businesses need a minimum annual turnover of £100,000 and at least six months of trading history.
The platform also includes credit control automation tools and risk insights as standard - allowing businesses to run their own collections process with automated reminders and credit checks, rather than outsourcing that function to the provider.
The trade-off is that Satago is largely self-service. Businesses that need hands-on support, specialist sector knowledge for complex ledgers, or a dedicated relationship manager may find a more traditional provider better suited to their needs.
Who this may suit: UK businesses with at least £100,000 turnover looking for a flexible, digital-first invoice finance solution without long-term contract commitments, and who are comfortable managing their own credit control with automated tools.
What Invoice Factoring Involves
Invoice factoring is an arrangement where a business sells its unpaid invoices to a third party - the factoring company - in exchange for an advance, typically up to 90% of the invoice value, paid within 24 hours. The factoring company then takes responsibility for collecting payment from your customers and releases the remaining balance to you, minus its fees, once the invoice is settled.
The key distinction from invoice discounting is that with factoring, the provider manages your credit control function. Your customers will be aware they are making payments to the factoring company rather than directly to you. This makes it particularly suitable for businesses that either lack an in-house credit control team or would prefer to free up that resource entirely.
Factoring facilities are typically structured as whole-ledger arrangements - meaning all or most of your invoices go through the facility - though some providers also offer selective options for businesses with more irregular requirements.
What to Look for in an Invoice Factoring Company
Before comparing providers, it is worth being clear on what actually matters for your business. The headline advance rate and fee structure are important, but they are not the only considerations.
How the provider manages your customer relationships on your behalf is worth probing carefully. Their credit control team will be interacting with your clients - how they do that, and how closely they work to your preferences, reflects directly on your business. Ask prospective providers how they handle overdue accounts and what their approach is to maintaining customer relationships during collections.
Sector experience is also relevant. Factoring arrangements in construction, recruitment, and logistics each come with specific complexities - contra charges, PAYE considerations, application-for-payment invoicing - that not every provider handles well. A provider with genuine depth in your sector will be better placed to structure a facility that works for your ledger.
Finally, consider the contract terms in full, not just the advance rate. Minimum contract lengths, notice periods, and exit conditions vary significantly across the market and are worth understanding before you sign.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Whichever provider you approach, the following questions are worth putting to them directly before committing to a facility:
How will your team communicate with my customers? Understanding the provider's credit control approach - tone, frequency, escalation procedures - matters because their team will be representing your business in those conversations.
What happens if a customer disputes an invoice? Disputed invoices are a practical reality in most businesses. How the factoring company handles these, and what your liability is during a dispute, should be clearly set out before you sign.
What are the exit terms? Minimum contract lengths and notice periods vary across the market. If your circumstances change, understanding how and when you can exit the facility without penalty is important.
Are there any charges beyond the headline service fee and discount rate? Additional fees - minimum usage charges, survey fees, credit limit fees - can add up. Always ask for a full illustration of all-in costs rather than comparing headline rates alone.
Can the facility grow with my business? A good factoring provider should be able to review and increase your facility as your turnover grows, rather than requiring you to renegotiate from scratch.
Final Thoughts
Invoice factoring can be a practical solution for businesses that need to free up working capital tied up in unpaid invoices and would benefit from having collections managed on their behalf. The providers above each take a somewhat different approach - in terms of size, sector focus, pricing structure, and service model - and the right fit will depend on your own circumstances.
It is worth getting a detailed quote from more than one provider and comparing all-in costs, contract terms, and how they approach credit control, before making a decision.
