Bibby Financial Services provides £2.2m funding facility to support international growth at foster and residential care firm

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has provided a £2.2 million invoice finance funding facility to Care Visions, a leading independent fostering and residential care provider for vulnerable children, adults and the elderly.

Established almost twenty years ago, with its first children’s care home in Scotland, Care Visions has grown rapidly with impressive ambitions for providing future care. Working closely with local councils in Scotland, its operations have extended into England and Ireland.

After detailed market evaluation and product development, the business expanded into China, launching holistic dementia therapies in Beijing in a move to improve the quality of life for dementia sufferers. The creation of these new innovative ways to provide care has helped the Group not only improve its overall service offering, but stay ahead of the competition.

To support its international plans, Care Vision spoke with BFS’s Corporate team in Scotland, which was able to structure a bespoke funding package.

The £2.2 million Confidential Invoice Discounting facility will help to balance Care Vision’s cashflow against changes in local authority payment terms, as well as supporting further growth.

The facility was structured to allow access to funding during the month prior to final invoices being raised to the local authority’s, enabling better cash flow management. In addition, the level of invoices funded was increased to 85 per cent, with BFS offering an additional flexible option to increase to 90 per cent during peak times.

Mike Reid, chief executive officer at Care Visions, said: “Caring for disadvantaged children and adults across the UK means we operate under a framework of agreements with local authorities, who make up a large proportion of our customer base.

“BFS created a unique invoice discounting facility which clearly understands our individual cashflow requirements. The Corporate Funding team at BFS helped stabilise the impacts on our cashflow by funding weekly invoices, creating an internal bridge for us until payment is received at a later date. The working capital from BFS means we can focus our attention on our domestic growth ambitions and expanding our footprint in China and the UK through the provision of therapies for dementia sufferers.”

Ronnie Stokes, corporate manager – Scotland at Bibby Financial Services, said: “Care Visions is a fantastically innovative business that is committed to transforming the lives of the vulnerable and disadvantaged. Partnering with a business that is striving to tackle a global problem and make a real difference in the world has been extremely rewarding.

“We’re a relationship based funder, and this means that we get to know our clients’ businesses so that we can tailor a funding package that works both now and in the future.

“This deal is a great example of our team’s expertise in not only invoice discounting, but structuring a bespoke finance facility that is fully personalised to meet the company’s individual cashflow needs.”