Every industry has its own cash-flow rhythm - retentions in construction, weekly PAYE in recruitment, occupancy in care. We work with the funders who understand those rhythms, so a deal is priced on what the business actually is, not on a generic SME template.
Recruitment is a cash-flow business dressed up as a services business. Weekly PAYE and NIC obligations meet client payment terms of 30, 60 and sometimes 90 days, and growth actively worsens the working capital position. We place confidential invoice discounting and full-service factoring facilities with specialist recruitment funders who understand back-office reconciliation, contractor payroll and the seasonality of healthcare, industrial and IT desks.
Sub-contractors carry the working capital risk of the entire chain. Applications for payment sit for weeks, retentions are held for a year or more, and CIS deductions bite before margin is recognised. We fund main contractors and specialist sub-contractors alike - construction-friendly invoice finance, project-based bridging, plant refinance and short-term working capital that respects retentions and pay-when-paid clauses.
Care homes, dental practices, GP-owned surgeries and private clinics operate against a slow-moving payer mix - local authority, ICB, private and self-pay - while wage bills run weekly. We arrange working capital and property-backed lending for operators expanding capacity, refurbishing sites or transitioning ownership, and we work with lenders who genuinely understand CQC ratings and clinical goodwill valuations.
Independent operators - pubs, restaurants, hotels, gyms and event venues - face concentrated seasonality, energy volatility and the aftershock of the last few trading years. We place unsecured working capital for refurbishment and pre-season stock, merchant-cash-advance replacement facilities on sensible amortisation, and commercial mortgages for freehold acquisitions. Priced against real EBITDA, not headline turnover.
UK manufacturers carry cost on the way in and revenue on the way out, with a supply chain that has repriced sharply. We arrange stock and trade finance for import cycles, asset finance and refinance across CNC, tooling and production lines, and structured working capital facilities that recognise the balance sheet weight of finished goods and WIP.
Solicitors, accountants, consultancies and agencies are lender-friendly on paper but often awkward in practice - no fixed assets, lumpy WIP, partner drawings - and high-street banks size the facility to last year's numbers. We place partner-capital, WIP funding and unsecured growth loans with lenders who read professional practice accounts properly.
Wholesale, logistics, agriculture, media, technology, education - our panel spans most of the UK SME economy. If your sector is not listed, it is almost certainly one we have placed inside the last 12 months. The fastest way to find out is a short call.
