Hydr: products, terms and eligibility

Hydr is a UK provider of invoice finance. The legal entity named on its site is HN Flow Ltd (trading as Hydr), company number 12843859. It is based in Manchester. Companies House shows the company was incorporated 2020.

Hydr is a UK invoice finance company; its site says it was founded by Nicola Weedall, who is its Founder and CEO. Companies House records the trading entity, HN Flow Ltd, as incorporated in 2020. The company is based in Manchester.

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

Hydr publishes one product for UK businesses. The table above gives the amounts and terms as it states them.

• Invoice finance (disclosed): You choose which invoices to fund; your customer pays Hydr on its terms; a fixed fee is quoted up front.

Invoice finance (disclosed)

Hydr describes this as a disclosed product, meaning the business’s customers are told Hydr is involved. Hydr says up to 100% of the value of the invoices selected for funding is available, and that it handles invoice management and collection from the customer. The business connects its bank (via Open Banking) and cloud accounting software, Hydr reviews the customer ledger to decide which invoices it can fund, and the business chooses which invoices to fund. A live dashboard shows payment progress.

Hydr says its finance is used for:

• Releasing cash tied up in unpaid invoices
• Smoothing cash flow while waiting for customers to pay
• Having invoice collection managed by the finance provider

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

• Small UK businesses that invoice other businesses.
• Bank and accounting software connected to the platform.
• Eligibility check on your debtors; Hydr says it funds those it is able to.
• All debtor relationships verified before any payment.

Hydr describes its process like this:

1. Sign up with basic company information and identity verification (passport or driving licence).
2. Connect cloud accounting software, such as Xero, with read-only access.
3. Connect the business bank account via Open Banking.
4. Hydr assesses the customer ledger to see which debtors and invoices it can fund.
5. Company directors review and sign the funding agreement.
6. Select invoices to fund.

Information it says it asks for:

• Basic company information
• Passport or driving licence for identity verification
• Read-only access to cloud accounting data
• Read-only access to company bank details

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.

Points Hydr publishes that are worth knowing:

• Disclosed product: your customers are told Hydr is involved.
• Hydr takes on invoice management for the invoices it funds.
• Says the quoted fixed fee does not change if the customer pays a few days late.
• Automated reconciliation currently available for Xero users.

Security and guarantees

Hydr says access to accounting software and bank accounts is read-only and that bank connections use Open Banking, which it describes as regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The pages read do not set out personal guarantees or charges, so this should be checked in the funding agreement.

The pages we checked do not carry a regulatory statement, so we describe none. Ask Hydr how it is regulated and check any claim on the FCA Register.

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 Partnership Invoice Finance, Penny and Team Factors. 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.