Close Brothers: products, terms and eligibility

Close Brothers is a UK provider of invoice finance. The legal entity named on its site is Close Invoice Finance Limited, company number 00935949. It is based in Brighton. It is part of Close Brothers Group plc.

Close Brothers Invoice Finance and Close Brothers Asset Finance are part of Close Brothers Group plc, a UK specialist banking group listed on the London Stock Exchange. Close Brothers Asset Finance says it was founded in 1987, with its head office in Wimbledon and offices in Chester, Burton, Glasgow, Sidcup and Manchester. Close Brothers Invoice Finance is based at The Portland Building, Brighton, and its client managers work from Brighton and Manchester.

In its own words on scale:

• Says Close Brothers Group employs approximately 3,000 people, mainly in the UK and Ireland.
• Says its invoice finance clients stay for over five years on average.

Everything on this page comes from what Close Brothers publishes itself. We show the date we last checked it, and we do not rate or rank lenders.

Close Brothers publishes 5 products for UK businesses. The table above gives the amounts and terms as it states them.

• Invoice discounting: Advance against each invoice; balance less fees paid when your customer settles.
• Invoice factoring: Advance against each invoice; Close Brothers collects payment from your customers.
• Hire purchase: Regular instalments; option to own the asset at the end.
• Finance lease and operating lease: Monthly rentals.

Invoice discounting

A confidential facility where you keep control of collections. Close Brothers advances up to 90% of each invoice when raised, through its IDeal online platform which links to over 200 accounting packages, and pays the balance less fees when your customer pays. Export sales can also be considered.

Invoice factoring

Close Brothers advances up to 90% of each invoice and manages your sales ledger, credit control and collections, paying the balance less fees when your customers settle.

Asset based lending

Facilities of £1m to £65m that combine invoice finance with funding against stock, property and plant and machinery, aimed mainly at companies with turnover above £5m. Used for buy-outs, buy-ins, mergers, acquisitions, refinancing and working capital, with up to 90% prepayment on receivables.

Growth Guarantee Scheme

Facilities generally up to £2m per business group, provided at Close Brothers' discretion. Term loans and asset finance run from three months to six years, overdrafts and invoice finance from three months to three years. Personal guarantees are taken at its discretion, and a main home cannot be taken as security.

Asset finance

Hire purchase, finance lease, operating lease and refinancing (sale and HP back) for new and used vehicles, machinery and equipment, secured on the asset.

Close Brothers says its finance is used for:

• Improving cash flow
• Managing late payments and seasonal demand
• Management buy-outs, buy-ins, mergers and acquisitions
• Buying vehicles, machinery and equipment
• Releasing cash from assets you already own
• Restructuring or refinancing

Sectors and business types it says it funds:

• Recruitment
• Manufacturing
• Food and drink
• Business services
• Print and packaging
• Retail
• Agriculture
• Construction

What it says it does not fund:

• Banks, building societies, insurers and reinsurers (Growth Guarantee Scheme)
• Public sector bodies (Growth Guarantee Scheme)
• State-funded primary and secondary schools (Growth Guarantee Scheme)

Close Brothers publishes these criteria. Meeting them does not mean an application will be accepted: every lender makes its own decision.

• Invoices are business to business.
• Invoice discounting and factoring: minimum turnover of £750k a year.
• You are willing to finance all of your invoices, not just a few.
• Asset based lending: primarily for companies with turnover above £5m.
• Growth Guarantee Scheme: UK trading businesses with group turnover up to £45m.
• Refinancing is open to businesses of all sizes, including sole traders.

Close Brothers describes its process like this:

1. Call or use the contact form to speak to an invoice finance or asset finance specialist.
2. Discuss your requirements and receive a tailored, individually priced proposal.
3. Close Brothers runs credit and fraud checks.
4. Once the facility is in place, a dedicated client manager supports your account.
5. Intermediaries work with a local sales director who can make lending decisions.

Every application is subject to status and the lender’s own criteria at the time.

Invoice finance releases cash tied up in unpaid invoices: the provider advances part of an invoice’s value when you raise it and pays the balance, less its charges, when your customer pays. With factoring the provider collects from your customers; with invoice discounting you keep collecting yourself.

Providers assess your customers as much as your own business: who owes you, on what terms and how concentrated the debt is. It suits firms that sell on credit to other businesses, such as recruitment agencies and manufacturers.

Our guide to invoice finance explains the costs, who it suits and how to compare offers.

Points Close Brothers publishes that are worth knowing:

• Invoice finance is operated by Close Invoice Finance Limited (company 00935949); asset finance is a trading style of Close Brothers Limited (company 00195626).
• The invoice finance site carries no FCA statement; the regulatory wording shown is from the asset finance site.
• Invoice finance is individually priced, made up of a service fee and a discount fee, which are disclosed when the facility is arranged.
• Asset finance is secured on the asset or equipment, which may be repossessed if payments are not kept up.
• Growth Guarantee Scheme facilities are at Close Brothers' discretion; the government guarantee is to the lender and the borrower stays fully liable.

Security and guarantees

Invoice finance is secured on your outstanding customer invoices. Asset based lending is secured against invoices, property, stock, plant or machinery. Asset finance is secured on the asset or equipment, which may be repossessed if payments are missed. Personal guarantees on Growth Guarantee Scheme facilities are at its discretion; a main home cannot be taken as security.

Close Brothers’s site states: “Close Brothers Asset Finance is a trading style of Close Brothers Limited ("CBL"). Close Brothers Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (firm number 124750).”

You can check any firm’s permissions on the FCA’s Financial Services Register, listed in the sources below, before you sign anything.

Protections differ by borrower type and loan size. Most lending to limited companies is not regulated consumer credit, so read the agreement and ask the lender what applies to you.

Other providers of invoice finance with profiles here include Cynergy Business Finance (Cynergy Bank), eCapital (UK) and Hydr. Each profile uses that lender’s own published terms.

The full list, grouped by product type, is in our directory of UK business lenders.

Capzy is a credit broker, not a lender, and gets paid by the lender. One application lets your business compare options across lenders, so you can weigh this kind of facility against the alternatives. You can check your funding options with a soft search that does not affect your credit score. A full application to a lender may involve a hard search, and any offer is subject to status and lender criteria.