Bibby Financial Services has undertaken a securitisation on its loan book with Barclays, Bank Of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Lloyds.
The securitisation involved having its UK factoring receivables debtor-book, worth around £800m, rated by ratings agencies, releasing a further £280m of credit to lend through its business, said a spokesman for BFS to Leasing Life.
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DBRS and Moody’s awarded AA and Aa2 ratings, respectively, for BFS’ debtor-book, facilitating the refinancing deal, which BFS said was the first of its kind in the UK.
Prior to today’s announcement, BFS advanced in the region of £480m to UK SMEs. The independent financier said it has now committed funds of £774m to the sector.
David Postings, global chief executive for BFS, said: "Securitisation is a huge milestone for Bibby Financial Services and one which will see us compete with banks and other independent funders on a much greater scale and level playing field.
"This is just the start of our growth plan as we seek to expand our support to SMEs over the coming years."
In March, BFS announced plans to grow its UK footfall by opening two new offices in Greater London and relocating its central London office from Aldersgate to The Baltic Exchange.
The funder opened its North London Business Centre in Brentwood in April and in October the opening of a new office in Redhill, Surrey, was announced.
