- 29 Nov
400,000 Companies Unaware Of Invoice Finance
I have tried to estimate the potential size of the UK invoice finance market, and my numbers suggest that some 400,000 eligible companies are unaware of invoice finance.
UK Businesses
There are apparently c. 5.4 million businesses in the UK, according to Government figures.
Eligible Companies
I took a database of UK businesses and selected those that fell within generally acceptable trade sectors for invoice finance. I also included construction sectors, as many factors will now fund those businesses. I excluded the businesses in very poor financial shape e.g. insolvent etc. I did not exclude any businesses by reason of size, as single invoice finance has opened up the availability of finance to even the smallest companies.
In total my search returned 1,263,769 records. That represents 23.4% of UK businesses, almost a quarter that could be eligible to use some form of invoice finance.
400,000+ Companies Are Not Aware Of Invoice Finance
From our recent research about awareness levels, I applied our research metric, that 32% of companies are not aware of invoice finance - that suggests that there are 404,406 businesses that are suitable for invoice finance, but haven't heard of it.
A 10% conversion of these businesses would almost double the total number of clients of ABFA members, and would bring a cash flow advantage to many businesses that need improved working capital facilities.
#IFaware
This is why we decided to launch our #IFaware campaign, via social media and the web, to spread awareness to as many companies as possible. You can find out how to support the campaign here.
A Real Example
Only last night I was speaking to a businessman from Hastings who said that he had previously fallen into the category of those that were not aware of factoring and discounting, and could of benefitted from using it.
The opportunity remains huge.
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