Invoice Finance Charges
Analysis – May 2024
Analysis of new invoice finance debentures registered at Companies House for May 2024. A broadly neutral month with 431 new charges, -4% headline, and +1% adjusted (excluding RBS). Specialist providers remained the standout category.
May 2024 Total
431
new IF charges
Headline Var.
-4%
vs May 2023
Adjusted Var.
+1%
excl. RBS
Specialists
70
vs 41 in May 2023
Summary
May 2024 registered 431 new IF charges, down from 448 in May 2023 (-4% headline). On an adjusted basis excluding RBS, the market was broadly flat at +1%. This softer month followed a strong April.
Banks dipped to 97 charges (from 108 in May 2023). Large independents registered 213 charges, marginally down from 222. Mid-tier independents continued to soften with 40 charges (vs 54). The standout group remained specialist lenders with 70 charges, a significant uplift from 41 in May 2023 (+71%).
Key Insights
- Broadly flat adjusted market: -4% headline, +1% adjusted (excl. RBS) — a pause after the strong April.
- Specialist lenders surged 71%: 70 charges in May vs 41 in May 2023.
- Sonovate posted 25 charges in May — a standout month for the payroll-focused lender.
- Mid-tier decline continues: 40 charges vs 54 in May 2023 (-26%).
- Cumulative Jan–May 2024: 2,087 charges, tracking ahead of 2023 on an adjusted basis.
Lender Analysis
Banks and large independents showed marginal declines. Mid-tier softened further. Specialist providers continued exceptional growth with Sonovate's strongest month on record.
Banks
| Lender | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Var. | YTD 2024 | YTD Var. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBS Invoice Finance | 33 | 23 | 14 | -9 | 106 | -142 |
| Lloyds Commercial Finance | 30 | 38 | 40 | +2 | 183 | -3 |
| HSBC Invoice Finance | 33 | 28 | 29 | +1 | 117 | +10 |
| SME Invoice Finance | 9 | 12 | 5 | -7 | 31 | -12 |
| Investec Capital | 1 | 3 | 3 | – | 15 | -2 |
| Arbuthnot Latham | 5 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 16 | +6 |
| Total – Banks | 111 | 108 | 97 | -11 | 468 | -143 |
Large Independents
| Lender | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Var. | YTD 2024 | YTD Var. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bibby Finance | 59 | 68 | 73 | +5 | 314 | +44 |
| eCapital Commercial Finance | 24 | 38 | 32 | -6 | 174 | -5 |
| Close Brothers | 14 | 21 | 21 | – | 107 | -15 |
| Novuna | 20 | 15 | 19 | +4 | 89 | +15 |
| Skipton Business Finance | 21 | 19 | 21 | +2 | 85 | -9 |
| Ultimate Finance | 10 | 13 | 12 | -1 | 48 | +1 |
| Cynergy Business Finance | 11 | 12 | 12 | – | 49 | +1 |
| Time Finance | 9 | 10 | 11 | +1 | 40 | -6 |
| Kriya | 7 | 15 | 4 | -11 | 13 | -44 |
| Total – Large Independent | 180 | 222 | 213 | -9 | 972 | -11 |
Mid-tier Independents
| Lender | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Var. | YTD 2024 | YTD Var. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Business Finance | 4 | 13 | 7 | -6 | 47 | -11 |
| Optimum SME Finance | 5 | 10 | 7 | -3 | 45 | +4 |
| Paragon Business Finance | 3 | 7 | 5 | -2 | 29 | -6 |
| 4SYTE | 2 | 7 | 4 | -3 | 25 | +8 |
| Sallyport Commercial Finance | 4 | 10 | 8 | -2 | 23 | +8 |
| Secure Trust Bank | 6 | 7 | 4 | -3 | 13 | -4 |
| Total – Mid-tier | 33 | 54 | 40 | -14 | 254 | -3 |
Specialists
| Lender | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Var. | YTD 2024 | YTD Var. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonovate | 2 | 6 | 25 | +19 | 77 | +51 |
| Zodeq | 3 | 5 | 13 | +8 | 76 | +46 |
| Team Factors | 12 | 14 | 15 | +1 | 69 | +14 |
| Quba Solutions | 6 | 7 | 7 | – | 45 | +9 |
| Liquid Link | 5 | 6 | 5 | -1 | 27 | +8 |
| Giant Finance | 2 | 3 | 5 | +2 | 13 | +2 |
| Total – Specialist | 35 | 41 | 70 | +29 | 304 | +131 |
Access the Full Report
Want the complete analysis including detailed sector breakdowns, regional data, and full lender tables? Get in touch with the Spark team.
Contact the Spark TeamMethodology
This analysis uses AI-driven classification to identify invoice finance charges registered at Companies House. Charges are matched based on the charge-holder name or a combination of the name and the nature of the charge description.
For some lenders (e.g. Barclays, Santander), it is not feasible to produce a strong enough pattern to reliably match charges to invoice finance. Where a group of companies has a charge, this is counted as one event. Multiple charges registered by the same company within the reporting period are not counted separately. Refactors are based on IF charges where a previous IF charge was satisfied within 100 days of the new charge or was left open.
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