Food and drink invoice finance
Invoice finance options for UK food, beverage, ingredients, catering supply and wholesale businesses managing stock, production, supplier costs and customer payment terms.
Why food and drink businesses use invoice finance
Food and drink businesses often need to buy ingredients, stock, packaging and supplies before customers settle invoices.
Producers, wholesalers and food service suppliers can face cashflow pressure from supplier payments, production costs, stock holding and customer payment terms.
This can be especially important where demand is seasonal, large customer orders increase stock requirements or supermarket and wholesale customers pay on extended terms.
Food and drink invoice finance can release working capital against eligible unpaid B2B invoices, helping reduce the timing gap between buying, producing, delivering and being paid.
Simple summary: food and drink invoice finance can help bridge the gap between supplier costs, production, delivery and customer payment.
Where cashflow pressure appears in food and drink
Food and drink cashflow can be affected by stock, ingredients, packaging, supplier terms, production timing and customer payment cycles.
Stock and ingredients
Cash can be tied up in raw materials, ingredients, packaging or finished goods.
Supplier payments
Suppliers may need paying before customers settle invoices for delivered goods.
Production cycles
Working capital may be needed through buying, production, delivery and payment.
Seasonal demand
Large orders or seasonal peaks can increase funding requirements before payment is received.
Invoice factoring
Can support suppliers that want funding and support around debtor management or collections.
Invoice discounting
May suit established food and drink businesses that want to retain customer control.
Asset-based lending
Can be considered where stock, invoices or equipment may support wider funding.
Selective funding
May suit businesses that want to fund selected invoices, customers or seasonal requirements.
Food and drink funding depends on invoices, stock, supplier terms and seasonality.
Food and drink invoice finance may suit businesses that need:
- ✓ Working capital while waiting for customers to pay
- ✓ Support around stock, ingredients or supplier payments
- ✓ Funding linked to eligible B2B invoices
- ✓ Flexibility to support seasonal demand or order growth
Asset-based lending may be considered where:
- ✓ Stock or inventory may support wider funding
- ✓ Equipment or wider assets may be relevant
- ✓ Existing facilities need to be refinanced
- ✓ The funding requirement is wider than invoices alone
Food and drink invoice finance questions
Common questions from UK food, drink, ingredients, catering supply and wholesale businesses.
What is food and drink invoice finance?
Food and drink invoice finance is funding that can release working capital against eligible unpaid B2B customer invoices, helping businesses manage cashflow while waiting for customers to pay.
Can invoice finance help with supplier payments?
It can help improve working capital availability, which may support ingredients, packaging, stock, production costs and supplier payments.
Can stock support funding?
Potentially. Stock or inventory may be considered as part of an asset-based lending structure, subject to valuation, quality, ownership and funder criteria.
Is invoice finance suitable for seasonal demand?
It may be suitable where seasonal orders increase stock, production or working capital requirements before customer invoices are paid.
What documents are usually needed?
Providers may request an aged debtor report, aged creditor report, latest accounts, recent management accounts and details of customers, invoices, stock or existing facilities.
Explore food and drink invoice finance options
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