Name: Halldale Media Group
Industry: Publishers
“We looked at a number of invoice finance companies, but Bibby Financial Services offered the most competitive rates on the market. We have an office in America, and a high percentage of our revenue comes from international markets, so we needed to be flexible and ensure we used an invoice financier with global expertise.”
As Halldale Media Group’s spokesperson Janet Llewellyn will testify, experiencing business growth and an increase in turnover isn’t necessarily a guaranteed ticket to success.
The Group, which specialises in publishing magazines for the worldwide simulation and training industry, generates the vast majority of its revenue from industry-specific advertisers in the USA. As volumes and turnover increased, it realised that the demands on its credit control function were becoming increasingly unmanageable.
The Problem
Janet explains: “Our success in the U.S market meant that, although we were experiencing an increase in turnover, we had less cash flow available for developing the business due to outstanding customer invoice payments. Furthermore, the additional demands on the Group, for example chasing outstanding invoices, meant that we had to consider employing an additional member of staff to assist with credit control. What we required was a flexible finance solution to smooth the flow of cash into the business and chase payments from overseas customers.”
Halldale Media Group decided that the company’s best interests would be best served by employing the services of a specialist international trade financier, ensuring both the early release of cash into the business and relinquishing some of the demand on its credit control department.
Janet continues: “With some of our international customers, we were looking at anything up to 90 days as the payment term. We needed to address the problem quickly in order to meet our commitments and maintain good terms with our suppliers, and we were also looking to reduce some of the financial pressures the Group was experiencing.”
The Solution
Halldale Media Group turned to leading independent invoice financier Bibby Financial Services and has been using its International Trade Finance facility since 2004.
Janet says: “We looked at a number of invoice finance companies, but Bibby Financial Services offered the most competitive rates on the market. We have an office in America, and a high percentage of our revenue comes from international markets, so we needed to be flexible and ensure we used an invoice financier with global expertise.”
Using Bibby Financial Services’ International Trade product proved to be the perfect solution for Halldale Media Group. By providing upfront funding against confirmed customer orders and then releasing a percentage of the value of customer invoices raised against those orders, Halldale Media Group was provided with an ongoing source of funding.
Janet states: “The flexibility of the product is key. Bibby Financial Services provide ongoing funding against our invoices and then chase and collect customer payments. The facility has allowed us to finance our business much more efficiently, freeing up our cash flow which has enabled us to invest in other areas of the business, such as business development.”
The Group anticipates further growth over the forthcoming months, and Janet expects an increased demand for Bibby Financial Services’ international facilities.
“We anticipate our facility with Bibby Financial Services to grow organically. As our business grows there is no doubt our demand on its services will increase, and we look forward to continuing our mutually beneficial relationship. We’ve found working with them very rewarding.”
About International Trade Finance
Bibby Financial Services’ International Trade Finance facility releases a continuous flow of cash for businesses to develop overseas activities. It also removes the hassle of dealing with overseas customers by chasing and collecting outstanding invoice payments, using its in-house multilingual team supported by its global network of companies. Furthermore, Bibby Financial Services can smooth out the problem of fluctuating exchange rates by offering multi-currency facilities as well as foreign exchange rates and forward currency dealings for protection against exchange losses.