Cash flow funding for wholesalers, distributors and suppliers to the healthcare sector, where the problem is usually timing rather than profitability.
What we arrange for wholesalers and distributors
- Invoice finance, releasing cash against your sales ledger as invoices are raised
- Invoice discounting, run confidentially so your customers deal only with you
- Invoice factoring, where credit control is handled for you
- Trade and import finance for funding supplier orders and shipments
- Stock and inventory finance
- Selective or single-invoice facilities where you only want to fund specific debtors
Why invoice finance suits this sector
Distribution into healthcare has a structural cash flow problem: you pay suppliers, often overseas and often up front, then wait on payment terms from pharmacies, practices, trusts and health boards. Growth makes it worse, because every new contract widens the gap before it closes it.
Invoice finance addresses that directly by advancing a proportion of each invoice as it is raised, with the balance following on payment. A well-structured facility can release a substantial share of your ledger value within a day of invoicing, and it scales as you grow rather than needing renegotiation each time.
What lenders will actually do
- Facility sizes: invoice finance from around £50,000 up to £10m depending on the funder, with specialists in healthcare supply chains funding to around £4m in the UK.
- Advance rates: commonly up to 90%, and up to 95% of invoice value released within 24 hours from some funders.
- Trade and import finance: available alongside an invoice facility to fund the supplier side, unwinding when goods are sold and invoiced.
- The real obstacle is concentration. A distributor supplying two large hospital groups will fail most funders’ concentration tests, which commonly cap a single debtor at around a quarter to a third of the ledger. There are funders who do not apply concentration limits at all, and there are ways to structure around it.
- Public sector debtors: NHS trusts, health boards and local authorities are strong covenants but slow payers with complex approval chains. Funders differ widely in appetite for application-based and framework billing.
Trade finance and the supplier side
Where the pressure sits upstream, with a supplier requiring payment before shipment or an import you need to fund before you can sell it, trade finance covers the purchase and unwinds when the goods are sold and invoiced. Used alongside an invoice facility it funds the whole cycle rather than half of it.
What lenders look at
Funders assess the quality of your debtor book more than your balance sheet: who your customers are, how concentrated the ledger is, your payment history and your credit control. A ledger weighted towards public sector and established pharmacy groups is generally viewed favourably. Heavy concentration in one or two customers is the most common obstacle, and there are usually ways to structure around it.
Common questions
Will my customers know I am using invoice finance?
Not with confidential invoice discounting, where you continue to invoice and collect as normal. Factoring is disclosed, because the funder handles collections, which some businesses prefer for the credit control support it brings.
Can I fund only some of my invoices?
Yes. Selective and single-invoice facilities exist for exactly that, and can be useful for a one-off large order rather than a whole-ledger commitment.
Does regulated wholesale distribution affect funding?
Holding the appropriate licensing is expected, and funders will want to see it in order. It rarely causes a problem where the paperwork is current.
All figures are indicative and subject to lender assessment, your circumstances, valuation and prevailing market conditions. Commercial mortgages and unregulated bridging loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Property offered as security may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments.
This page was last reviewed in September 2026 and is next scheduled for review in March 2027. Lending criteria change frequently, so contact us for current terms rather than relying on published figures.