Press Release Summary = The first half of 2006 has proved successful for Venture Finance. The invoice and asset based financier today announces sales figures for January to June, with encouraging client growth and a 10 per cent increase in funds advanced, compared to the same period last year.
Press Release Body = September 1st, Virginia-Press-Release,West Sussex.The first half of 2006 has proved successful for Venture Finance. The invoice and asset based financier today announces sales figures for January to June, with encouraging client growth and a 10 per cent increase in funds advanced, compared to the same period last year.
Venture has continued to attract new customers across its range of services, which comprise Venture Factors Direct, Venture Factors, Venture Mid Market and Venture Structured Finance.
Analysis of Venture's recent deals shows that many clients are taking advantage of other services to supplement their invoice finance facility. Almost half (49 per cent) have chosen bad debt protection to help minimise the impact of a customer defaulting on payment. According to the UK Payment Index, businesses are losing 1.8 per cent of total revenue to bad debt. There is evidence to suggest the situation is getting worse - average payment time in 2005 was 52.3 days and has since risen to 54 days.
The DTI's Small Firms Loan Guarantee (SFLG) continues to prove a popular source of funding, with 14 per cent of new Venture clients choosing this option. Venture is the first and most experienced independent invoice financier authorised as a 'lender' of the SFLG, which provides a valuable injection of capital to supplement the ongoing cash flow generated by invoice finance.
Each office in Venture's regional network has performed well in the past six months, with a fairly even split across the country (56 per cent of deals signed in the south and 44 per cent in the north). Interestingly, the SFLG is slightly more popular with SMEs in the north (eight per cent compared to six per cent in the south).
The value of invoice finance to recruitment companies is demonstrated by the fact that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of Venture's new clients work within this sector. Invoice finance is a cost effective and flexible form of funding for recruitment firms, as it releases the value of unpaid invoices for immediate use. While this is particularly valuable to agencies paying temporary staff each week (before they are paid by clients), it also provides financial stability to agencies that place permanent staff and pay wages on a monthly basis.
Commenting on these sales figures, Steve Websdale, director at Venture Finance, said: "An increasing number of companies are becoming aware of the benefits of invoice finance over a traditional bank overdraft, as a means of stabilising cash flow and funding growth. This is combined with the fact that awareness of the Small Firms Loan Guarantee is growing, giving SMEs greater autonomy from their high street bank then ever before.
"It is also interesting to see that a significant proportion of business owners are taking steps to protect themselves from the damage that can be wrought by late, or sometimes, entirely defaulted payment. It is a terrible shame that too many otherwise successful organisations falter due to late payment issues, a problem that can be overcome with bad debt protection."
For more information on Venture Finance's services please visit http://www.venture-finance.co.uk or call 0800 515 053.
About Venture Finance
Venture Finance (www.venture-finance.co.uk) provides funding solutions from start-up to established businesses with a turnover of up to £200 million. Venture helps companies looking to manage cash flow, fund business opportunities, purchase new machinery, merge with or acquire a new business or expand their operations. Venture's core finance services are invoice and Web Site = http://www.venture-finance.co.uk
2022
