What are the best alternatives to Bibby Financial Services?

Why consider alternatives to Bibby Financial Services?

Bibby Financial Services has been doing invoice finance since 1982 and is one of the most experienced independent providers in the UK. The reasons businesses look elsewhere are rarely about competence. They are about the size of the door.

The minimum facility is £50,000 and most invoice finance facilities require £100,000 of annual turnover. Setup runs 1 to 2 weeks before the first drawdown. Pricing is quoted as a service fee plus a discount charge of 1% to 3% of invoice value per month, which is normal for the sector but harder to hold up against a competitor quote than a single number. And factoring, as opposed to confidential discounting, means your customers are told a third party is collecting.

This guide covers six lenders on the Lendus panel that carry invoice finance on their record and beat Bibby on a specific, named dimension.

Top Bibby Financial Services alternatives

1. Ultimate Finance, Best for a lower discount charge

Ultimate Finance prices invoice finance at 0.8% to 2.5% of invoice value per month against Bibby’s 1% to 3%, so both the floor and the ceiling are lower. It also sets facilities up faster, quoting 5 to 10 working days against Bibby’s 1 to 2 weeks, with initial funding within 24 hours of activation.

Facility and pricing: £20,000 to £5,000,000; 0.8% to 2.5% of invoice value per month (discount charge, plus a service fee).

Eligibility: 3+ months trading with invoice history preferred; £250,000 annual turnover for invoice finance, lower for asset finance.

Pros: Lower discount charge band than Bibby; faster setup; sector specialists in construction, labour supply, recruitment and manufacturing; dedicated relationship manager.

Cons: The £250,000 turnover requirement for invoice finance is higher than Bibby’s £100,000, so smaller businesses gain nothing here; no unsecured business loan product.

Best for: Established B2B businesses above £250,000 turnover that want the same product shape at a lower published discount charge.

Lendus has not verified Ultimate Finance’s regulatory status against a primary source, so no FCA claim is made for it here. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.

2. Aldermore, Best for the lowest entry point

Aldermore is a PRA-authorised bank whose facilities start at £2,000, against Bibby’s £50,000 minimum. It keeps Bibby’s £100,000 turnover threshold rather than raising it, which makes it the most realistic alternative for a business that was told its ledger was too small.

Facility and pricing: £2,000 to £10,000,000; 4.5% to 20% per annum depending on product, asset type and credit profile; 9.3% APR representative.

Eligibility: 12+ months trading for most products; £100,000 turnover for most products, with lower thresholds on some asset finance.

Pros: Lowest minimum of any lender here; same turnover threshold as Bibby; same-day decisions on asset finance up to £250,000; invoice finance, asset finance, commercial mortgages and business loans under one roof.

Cons: 12 months trading is stricter than Bibby’s 6 months preferred; not an invoice finance pure play, so the ledger expertise is broader rather than deeper.

Best for: Businesses with £100,000 or so of turnover that want a regulated bank rather than an independent, and a facility that can start small.

Aldermore Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, firm reference number 204503.

3. Close Brothers, Best for invoice and asset finance from one lender

Close Brothers has been lending since 1878 and carries asset finance, business loans and invoice finance on the same record. If your reason for leaving Bibby is that you are running two funding relationships, this consolidates them, with facilities to £5,000,000.

Facility and pricing: £10,000 to £5,000,000; 5% to 18% per annum; 9.9% APR representative.

Eligibility: 24+ months trading; £250,000 minimum turnover; good credit required for standard products, with full financial accounts typically needed.

Pros: FTSE 250 merchant bank with 145 years of lending history; specialist sector teams; published rate range and a published 3 to 5 working day decision time; large facility sizes.

Cons: 24 months trading is four times Bibby’s 6 month preference; £250,000 turnover is more than double; Trustpilot score of 3.5 from around 500 reviews is the lowest of the lenders in this guide.

Best for: Established mid-market businesses with two years of filed accounts that want invoice finance and asset finance from a single regulated bank.

Close Brothers Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, FCA reference number 124750.

4. Kriya, Best for drawing against invoices quickly

Kriya advances funds within 24 hours of an invoice being uploaded once the facility is live. That is the same drawdown speed Bibby quotes, but Kriya’s model is built around per-invoice usage rather than a whole-ledger facility, which suits businesses with lumpy billing.

Facility and pricing: £50,000 to £1,000,000. Kriya does not publish fixed interest rates, factor rates or a representative APR, and describes its invoice finance pricing as pay-as-you-use, with initial terms provided after an application is reviewed.

Eligibility: Minimum 12 months trading with at least one set of financial accounts filed for invoice finance and working capital loans.

Pros: Funds within 24 hours of uploading an invoice; pay-as-you-use structure; also offers working capital loans alongside the invoice facility.

Cons: No published pricing at all, so you cannot compare cost before applying; 12 months trading and one set of filed accounts is stricter than Bibby’s 6 month preference; working capital loan terms take around a week to come back.

Best for: Businesses over 12 months old with irregular invoicing that want to draw against individual invoices rather than commit a whole ledger.

Kriya Finance Limited is supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority for anti-money laundering purposes, FCA reference number 750199. That is anti-money laundering supervision rather than full FCA authorisation to carry out regulated lending or invoice finance activities.

5. Cynergy Business Finance, Best for the largest funding lines

Cynergy Business Finance provides funding lines from £200,000 to £40,000,000, well past Bibby’s £15,000,000 ceiling, and spreads them across receivables finance, asset finance, inventory finance, property finance, cash flow loans and block discounting. It serves more than 30 industry sectors.

Facility and pricing: £200,000 to £40,000,000. Cynergy Business Finance does not publish indicative rates, discount margins or factor rates. Pricing is bespoke and quoted per business after assessment.

Eligibility: Not publicly stated. Eligibility is assessed on the strength of the underlying receivables, stock, property or other assets rather than a published trading history or turnover threshold.

Pros: Ceiling of £40,000,000 against Bibby’s £15,000,000; the broadest asset-based product range in this guide; backed by a UK bank; no published minimum trading history to fall foul of.

Cons: The £200,000 minimum is four times Bibby’s, so this is the wrong move if your facility is small; nothing about price, speed or eligibility is published, so you learn the terms only after applying.

Best for: Established, scaling SMEs that have outgrown a mid-sized invoice finance facility and want stock, property and receivables funded on one line.

Cynergy Business Finance Limited states that its own asset-based lending activity is exempt from regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It is a subsidiary of Cynergy Bank plc, which is separately authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA under firm reference number 575105.

6. White Oak UK, Best for the fastest first answer

White Oak UK states an average loan decision turnaround of around 4 hours, against the 1 to 2 weeks Bibby quotes to stand a facility up. It carries asset finance, business loans and invoice finance, with facilities from £5,000 and an average loan size of around £60,000.

Facility and pricing: £5,000 to £500,000; priced per deal, with no public rate card.

Eligibility: Not publicly stated; assessed as part of underwriting.

Pros: Around 4 hours to a decision on average; £5,000 minimum against Bibby’s £50,000; term loans, asset finance and invoice factoring from one lender; institutionally backed.

Cons: £500,000 ceiling is far below Bibby’s £15,000,000; no published rates or eligibility criteria; the trading name and the regulated entity name do not match, which matters if you want to check the register yourself.

Best for: Smaller businesses that need an answer today on a facility measured in tens of thousands rather than millions.

LDF Operations Limited, trading as White Oak UK, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a credit broker and lender under FCA firm reference number 630633. White Oak UK’s own site states that where White Oak UK itself acts as lender, that specific product is not FCA-regulated.

Comparison table

How to choose the right alternative

Choose Ultimate Finance if the facility size is fine but the discount charge is not, and you clear £250,000 of turnover.

Choose Aldermore if £50,000 was more facility than you needed and you want a regulated bank at a £2,000 minimum.

Choose Close Brothers if you are funding a ledger and equipment at the same time and have two years of filed accounts to show.

Choose Kriya if your invoicing is lumpy and you would rather draw against individual invoices than commit the whole ledger.

Choose Cynergy Business Finance if you have outgrown a £15,000,000 ceiling and want stock and property on the same line as receivables.

Choose White Oak UK if the decision timeline is the problem and your facility is measured in tens of thousands.

One point of honesty: if you are with Bibby because of export factoring and cross-border receivables, none of these six matches that footprint on its record. That capability is worth paying a slightly higher discount charge for. If your receivables are domestic, it is not.

Lendus has not verified Bibby Financial Services’ own regulatory status against a primary source, so this guide makes no FCA claim about it. Lendus is an introducer, not a lender or a credit broker. We do not approve, decline or price any facility. Always confirm a lender’s regulatory status at register.fca.org.uk and read the facility agreement, including the minimum term and notice period, before you sign.