Independent Stock Finance Brokers UK
Stock finance releases cash tied up in inventory, or funds the stock you need to buy before your customer pays you. It is normally a revolving facility over 30, 60 or 90 days, from £5,000 to £5 million, so once you repay you can draw again.
We arrange stock and inventory funding for UK wholesalers, importers, distributors, retailers and manufacturers. We are an independent commercial finance broker with access to over 100 lenders, and we charge you no broker fee.
Apply now or call 0161 546 9128.
- Quickly Finance Stock Purchases
- Inventory Finance
- UK Stock Finance Providers
- Borrow Against Stock
- Fund Purchase Orders
- Borrow from £5k to £5m
Have a big order to fulfil but no cash to buy the stock? That is the problem this solves. Your supplier wants paying up front; your customer pays you weeks or months after delivery. Stock finance covers the gap so the order does not have to be turned down.
A worked example. A distributor wins a £200,000 order payable 60 days after delivery. The goods cost £130,000 and the supplier wants payment before despatch.
- Facility limit agreed: £160,000
- Drawn to pay the supplier: £130,000
- Goods delivered, customer invoiced
- Facility repaid from the customer’s payment, inside the 90-day term
- The limit is then available to use again on the next order
Because the funding sits against identifiable stock and a real order, lenders often look at the strength of the transaction as much as the balance sheet. A business with modest accounts but a solid order from a creditworthy customer is a more fundable proposition here than it would be for an unsecured loan.
What Types Of Stock Finance Are Available?
There are five structures we commonly arrange, and the right one depends on whether you are funding stock you already hold, stock you need to buy, or a specific order you have won. They can be combined, and often are.
Revolving Stock Finance Facilities
A pre-agreed limit you draw against to fund ongoing stock purchases, repay as you sell, and draw again. Suits businesses buying regularly rather than in one-off batches — wholesalers, distributors and retailers with seasonal or cyclical purchasing.
Interest or fees are normally charged on what you have drawn, for the days you have it, rather than on the whole limit. That makes it considerably cheaper than a term loan for businesses whose need comes and goes.
Stock & Inventory Loans
Funding secured against stock you already own and hold, in a warehouse or in store. This releases capital that is otherwise sitting on the shelves — useful for growth, for funding an acquisition, or for an MBO or MBI where the target’s inventory forms part of the value.
Lenders will normally want an independent stock valuation and will advance a percentage of it. Goods that are easily resold and hold their value attract better terms than bespoke, perishable or slow-moving inventory.
Where the requirement is specifically to pay a supplier — often overseas — before you have invoiced your customer, trade finance is usually the better structure. The lender pays the supplier directly, in their currency if needed, and you repay from the sale proceeds within up to 150 days.
It is available standalone, without needing an invoice finance facility alongside it, which matters for ecommerce and B2C businesses that do not raise invoices on credit terms.
Purchase Order Finance
Funding tied to a specific confirmed order. The finance provider may pay your supplier directly, and in some structures will buy the goods themselves and sell them on to you once your customer has paid.
This is the route for a business that has won an order noticeably larger than it can normally fund — the classic “we’ve landed a contract we can’t afford to deliver” problem. Because the lender is underwriting the order rather than your history, trading age matters less than the quality of the customer.
Vehicle Stock Funding
Also known as a stocking plan or floorplan facility, this funds vehicle forecourt stock for dealers — cars, vans, commercials, plant and agricultural machinery. Units are funded individually and settled as each one sells.
Limits are set against the value and turn rate of the stock rather than against your accounts, so a dealer with strong stock turn can usually access more than a general business loan would provide.
Stock Finance FAQ
Stock finance is used by businesses either to release cash tied up in existing inventory or to buy new stock. It is usually a revolving credit facility providing short term access to funding over 30, 60 or 90 days, which allows businesses to fulfil orders and ease cashflow pressure. Facilities typically run from £5,000 to £5 million.
Yes. Some finance providers will lend against business stock held in a warehouse or in store. This can be used to fund growth, an acquisition, or an MBO or MBI. Lenders will normally require an independent valuation and will advance a percentage of it, with goods that are easily resold attracting the better terms.
If your business has a large goods order to fulfil, you can potentially get funding to complete the sale. The finance provider may pay your supplier directly, and in some structures will buy the stock themselves. This lets you fulfil an order even without the cashflow to pay for the goods up front. The lender is largely underwriting the order and the customer, so trading history matters less than it would on an unsecured loan.
Facilities generally run from £5,000 to £5 million. The limit is driven by the value and saleability of the stock, your order book and the creditworthiness of your customers rather than by turnover alone — so a business with strong confirmed orders can often access more than its accounts alone would support.
Pricing normally has two parts: an arrangement or facility fee when the line is set up and renewed, and a usage fee on what you actually draw, for the days you have it. Costs vary widely with facility size, sector, stock type and the strength of your accounts, so a published rate would be misleading. The test that matters is whether the cost of the cycle sits comfortably inside your gross margin on the order — that is the first calculation we will do with you. We charge you no broker fee.
Most lenders will want a UK limited company with at least 12 to 24 months of trading, evidence of the transaction such as purchase orders and supplier invoices, identifiable creditworthy customers, filed accounts and recent management figures, and a margin that absorbs the cost of the facility. Security is normally a debenture over the company and often a personal guarantee from the directors.
Typically two to four weeks for a new facility, depending on how quickly documents come together and whether a stock valuation or customer credit limits are needed. Once the line is in place, individual drawdowns are usually same-day or next-day.
Often yes, because the facility is secured against stock or a specific order rather than resting on your credit profile alone. Adverse credit narrows the options and usually increases the cost rather than removing it. See our page on business loans for bad credit for how lenders assess CCJs, defaults and poor personal credit.
Apply For Stock Finance Today
Tell us what stock you are buying or holding, who your customers are and what the margin looks like, and we will tell you which lenders will consider it and roughly what it should cost. No documents needed for a first conversation, and no broker fees at any stage.
Call 0161 546 9128 or fill in the form below and we will be in touch straight away.
Related: trade finance · invoice finance · revolving credit facilities · all business finance options
Bolton Business Finance Ltd is a commercial finance broker. We arrange non-regulated business and commercial property finance only. We are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Facility terms, limits and pricing are determined by the lender and subject to underwriting. This page is general guidance, not advice.