Since 2011, MarketInvoice has funded invoices and business loans to UK companies worth more than £2bn, making them Europe’s largest online invoice finance platform. MarketInvoice has supported thousands of companies across the UK, funding over 170,000 invoices and supporting over 15,000 UK jobs, by providing business finance to help them grow, expand operations and hire more people.

In addition, the company is planning to launch cross-border fintech-bank partnerships to support more businesses with access to their lending solutions.

Anil Stocker, Co-founder & CEO of MarketInvoice, said: “This investment is perfectly timed for the company. The quality of investors we are bringing in through this funding round is a real testament to the whole team at MarketInvoice and the value we are building.

We’re excited to develop our finance solutions further and become the trusted funding partner for ambitious entrepreneurs. By collaborating with bank partners, we will be reaching many thousands of companies here in the UK and abroad to provide them with their business finance needs. We aim to invest in technology, data and strategic partnerships, to take MarketInvoice to the next level.”

Manuel Silva Martínez, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Santander InnoVentures, said: “MarketInvoice is helping UK businesses access much needed funding to keep their businesses and ideas thriving in a very competitive market. We are pleased to be joining other financial institutions as shareholders to scale their solutions in the UK and abroad. We are very excited to join Anil and his exceptional team in building this vision together.”

Ian Rand, CEO of Barclays Business Bank, said: “Collaborating with fintech companies like MarketInvoice is an integral part of Barclays’ strategy for accelerating growth. This investment demonstrates our commitment to the partnership we announced last summer which offers hundreds of thousands of our SME clients access to even more innovative forms of finance, boosting cash flow and competition in the market.”

Ido Vigdor, partner at Viola Credit, added: “More than £6 billion has been funded through alternative finance lending in the UK and it has become an established mainstream component in the UK financial landscape. The awareness, adoption and impact of alternative finance options are increasing rapidly as platforms, such as MarketInvoice, are providing seamless, easy to use, financial services. We are excited to enter the UK market and partner with this exceptional company as it enters to it next phase of growth”.

“Now more than ever, businesses need access to stable lines of funding as they navigate choppy political and economic conditions. Our invoice finance solutions are designed to bridge the gap in cash flow requirements and keep UK businesses growing and exporting.

We will use this new funding to invest in further risk automation and data models, scale-up our business loans solution, and grow our teams,” Stocker added.

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Founded in 2011, MarketInvoice has funded invoices worth more than £2.7 billion, boosting cash flow for thousands of UK businesses. The partnership will give their customer base access to the fintech’s proprietary single invoice finance product as well as broader digital invoice finance facilities.

The terms of an invoice normally dictate a long payment period that can be up to 120 days, leaving businesses with a cash flow gap in the interim. With invoice financing, SMEs who sell goods or services to other businesses can upload or sync their invoices to MarketInvoice’s platform and sell them to investors, unlocking fast access to funding.

The proposition will be introduced to Barclays’ SME clients over the coming months in areas across the UK, including the East Midlands, West Midlands, Herts and North West London, with a full roll-out set to commence nationwide in 2019.  Barclays also plans to fund invoices via the platform in the future, growing its asset base further.

Anil Stocker, MarketInvoice CEO, said: “It’s exciting to be combining the knowledge and footprint of a 325-year old British banking institution with MarketInvoice’s tech-led online finance solutions. Bringing this together in a strategic partnership can only mean good news for UK businesses, with the segment we’re targeting responsible for upwards of 60% of UK employment.

“Barclays has a long history of innovation being the first bank to introduce the credit card and the ATM. It makes total sense to partner and introduce our online business finance solutions for their large customer base.

“It’s easy to forget that the companies you see on the FTSE 100 all started as small businesses with founders following a passion. In focusing on the needs of these entrepreneurs through this collaboration, Barclays and MarketInvoice will truly transform the experience of UK companies in sourcing finance.”

Ian Rand, CEO of Barclays Business Bank, said: “Invoice finance is a product that has come of age in the digital era, it’s efficient, effective and controllable for small businesses.

“A number of our clients told us that they feel pressured into offering longer payment terms in order to stay competitive. This ties up their cash flow, preventing them from seizing growth opportunities.

“Invoice financing gives small businesses the power to obtain funding in a fast and innovative way, and capitalise on those moments. Our corporate bank already offers invoice financing to large businesses, so it’s great news that we’re able to extend the proposition to work for our SME clients as well.”

Barclays also recently launched £100,000 unsecured lending for SMEs, doubling its maximum for unsecured business loans from £50,000 to £100,000. This increase adds to Barclays’ already class-leading unsecured lending offering which allows qualifying SME clients to access pre-assessed affordable lending up to £25,000 on the go via their mobile and through online banking, often receiving the cash that same day.

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