Wholesale sector
Helping wholesalers to expand and invest with better working capital
We understand that appealing to customers and gaining a competitive edge in today's markets as a wholesale business can be difficult. Whether you’re trying to cover stock, payroll, warehouse leases, shipping costs, or implement efficient systems, success often depends on having the day-to-day cashflow and additional funds to invest in growth and expansion.
Our Invoice Finance is designed specifically for wholesale businesses. It helps you manage cashflow, bridge the gap between invoicing and payment, and plan ahead with greater certainty, leaving you free to focus on opportunities, not cashflow pressure.
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Wholesale trends and challenges
Wholesale businesses are heavily focused on expansion, whilst navigating the cashflow pressures impacting this growth. Our latest SME Confidence Tracker shows that 62 percent of SMEs reported customers taking longer to pay than a year ago, with 56 percent saying high costs and inflation remain their biggest challenge. With an increase in these debtor days and credit terms being stretched, our Invoice Finance allows wholesale businesses to manage cashflow differently, with access of up to 85 percent of their invoice value, for payments terms of up to 90 days.
Our 2026 Trading Places report also shows nearly 7 in 10 wholesalers have seen cashflow pressures intensify, with wholesale businesses facing average foreign exchange-related losses of over £96,000. Over two thirds of wholesalers (70%) are being squeezed by rising shipping and logistics costs, a direct consequence of current global conflicts, with almost 80 percent of wholesalers facing some form of disruption by such tensions. Our Foreign Exchange solutions can ease any uncertainty in global distribution, helping to to combat these rising logistical costs and overseas tariffs.
What our wholesale clients say
We support wholesale clients across multiple different areas from clothing to timber to fresh produce
Explore our finance solutions for wholesalers
Through Bibby Financial Services' Invoice Finance, wholesale businesses can unlock cash tied up in unpaid invoices rather than waiting for customers to pay. This gives wholesalers access to working capital to build up stock when it is available, without causing funding issues from cash unavailability. This allows wholesalers to satisfy large orders coming in that businesses otherwise couldn't afford without funding.
Wholesalers looking to invest in warehouse automation, equipment and vehicles and IT infrastructure can look into our Asset Finance solutions that can help spread the cost, preserving cash for inventory, supplier and wage payments whilst managing seasonal demand. Rather than making a large upfront capital expenditure, wholesalers can preserve working capital while accessing investments needed to increase capacity, improve efficiency and support growth. With SMEs seeing rising supplier (61%) and customer (63%) insolvencies, BFS also offers Bad Debt Protection, so we take on the risk, allowing you to grow without the worry of customer insolvency.
Why Bibby Financial Services?
- One of the UK’s largest independent SME funders
- Over 40 years’ experience supporting wholesale businesses
- Award winning funding provider, trusted across the UK and internationally
- Specialist teams who understand sector realities, from investing in supply chains and equipment before invoices are settled to managing growth in a volatile market
- Long‑standing wholesale expertise combined with practical insight
- Support designed to protect cashflow and help businesses plan with confidence