Little more than six months
after it was created as a separate entity to Leumi ABL, Leumi
Invoice Finance has identified potential candidates to which it
hopes to upsell asset-based lending services.

 

Picture of Phil Woodward, Leumi ABLLeumi ABL was established in 2006 as the asset based
lending subsidiary of Bank Leumi (UK), which has been operating in
the UK since 1902. Its lending capability can be extended with the
addition of trade finance and property finance via its parent for
amounts ranging from £1m (€1.2m) to £25m.

Asset based funding is available
exclusively to UK-based businesses, explains managing director Phil
Woodward.

“However, we are happy to fund
their sales to export customers,” Woodward adds.

“There is plenty of scope to assist
UK businesses in achieving their growth ambitions and we think this
market is sufficiently large for us to meet our growth
aspirations.”

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Leumi Invoice Finance was launched
in October 2009 to provide factoring and invoice discounting
solutions to small to medium-sized businesses following Leumi ABL’s
purchase of the Charterhouse Commercial Finance client book.

Thirty Charterhouse Finance clients
were transferred on the completion of that deal, with 28 of those
going to Leumi Invoice Finance to add to the 27 Leumi ABL clients
who transferred to the company’s new invoice finance division.

Over the last six months or so
Leumi Invoice Finance’s sales people have been busy networking with
factoring brokers, accountants and lawyers, continues Woodward, who
says the business has been growing month on month.

 

Professional
introducers

Deals are done through professional
introducers including accountancy firms, venture capital firms,
corporate finance boutiques and commercial finance brokers to a
maximum value of £750,000.

Together, Leumi ABL and Leumi
Invoice Finance have more than 130 clients drawn from a wide range
of sectors including printing, manufacturing, engineering,
distribution and food processing, although recruitment is a
particularly lucrative area.

“The sales team are keen to explain
to introducers and clients that we are independent of high street
clearers, which means we tend to be more flexible and client
focused,” says Woodward.

“But we also have the strength of
an international bank behind us.”

Woodward believes it would be folly
to have an exclusive partnership with any individual brokerage,
because it would close the door to deals from other brokers and
would fly in the face of the fact that Leumi ABL is a business with
a varied introductory network.

Woodward admits that it is a little
early for upselling asset-based lending services to its Leumi
Invoice Finance client base, which includes start-up or early stage
factoring clients, given that this division is barely six months
old, but hopes to see this happening and has identified a number of
clients who will be suitable candidates if they continue their
current growth trajectory.

He is also positive about the
prospects for growth over the rest of this year and beyond.

“I think Her Majesty’s Revenue and
Custom’s position will harden now we are post-general election and
this will increase pressure on companies, which should in turn
bring more deals to market.

“There is, however, growing optimism in many quarters of the
business community that confidence is returning and that
acquisitions and organic growth may increase as a result, while any
increase in capital gains tax, which now looks likely, would also
lead to greater opportunities.”

See also: Key facts: Bank Leumi