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Skipton Business Finance

Skipton Business Finance Skipton Business Finance Logo

Skipton Business Finance is a part of the Skipton Building Society. As one of the oldest building societies in the UK (est. 1853) you may be surprised to learn that Skipton offers one of the most remarkable invoice finance offerings we’ve reviewed to date.

Skipton’s unique factor is its focus on local services. Each of Skipton’s offices is responsible for developing long term relationships with customers, ensuring that funding decisions are made on the merits of individual businesses within their local context.

Skipton Business Finance Invoice Finance Services & Benefits

Skipton Business Finance offers a wide range of products, including a radically transparent invoice factoring offering called ‘Skipton Select’. If your business has only modest turnover — and you like simple, predictable pricing — this is the right choice for you.

With ‘Skipton Select’, the bank charges no discount fees, no annual fees and no fees for transfers. Instead businesses are quoted one, clear service fee based upon turnover. What’s more, this is a standardised calculation, published on their website. 

For example, for a new business with a turnover up to £100,000, the minimum monthly fee would be £200, with a fee per invoice of 3.5%. For an established business with a turnover from £750,000-£1m, the minimum monthly fee would be £500, with a fee per invoice of 1.35%.

Skipton Business Finance also offers:

  • Disclosed invoice factoring – where your customers can make payments directly to Skipton Business Finance. If you don’t want clients to know you are factoring, you can opt-in to added confidentiality, so it will not be obvious Skipton Business Finance are involved.
  • Recourse invoice factoring – earn from an invoice for a predetermined amount of days past its due date. Skipton take responsibility for the full payment, once it has been factored.
  • Invoice discounting designed for SMEs, which allows businesses with a turnover under £100,000 to access funds, as long as they can demonstrate their credit control and accounting functions. Here, you’ll also continue to collect payments from customers, as normal.

Most impressively: Skipton Business Finance also advertises a generous 3-month trial with no obligation to continue.

How much does Skipton Business Finance Invoice Finance cost?

As is often the case, a full rundown of associated fees is not publicly disclosed, with the exception of Skipton Select (as above). However, subject to eligibility, you can get a personalised quote within days so you don’t have to wait long to find out if it’s worth your while.

If you have lower turnover than other invoice financing providers demand, speak to Skipton. Several of its products have no minimum requirements and are flexible to match your business needs. 

However, make sure you fully understand the fees you should expect to pay.

Skipton Business Finance reputation

They have a good reputation when it comes to customer service and dedication to local businesses. Head over to Skipton’s blog, and you’ll see stories celebrating the success of small business customers — a really nice touch. 

Skipton’s reputation in the industry is excellent, having won awards such as “Invoice Financing Provider of the Year”. The firm has also signed the Women in Finance Charter, which aims to improve the representation of women in senior managerial roles within the financial services industry. 

Overall verdict: 4/5

Here, the focus on small business and long term relationships makes Skipton Business Finance a company to shortlist. We’d love to see Skipton publish fees, to make comparison easier and show even greater support for business customers.

Other invoice finance firms to consider

  • MarketInvoice – great if you’re interested in invoice discounting, but have been struggling to find a provider who’ll accept your turnover. With a Trustpilot score of 4.5/5, it comes highly recommended.
  • Hitachi Capital UK – in particular, Hitachi’s ‘Inspired Cashflow’ product is worth a look. Here customers benefit from no long-term contract and crystal clear fees.

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