Bristol-based invoice specialists Optimum Finance has described the first half of this year as “the most successful period in the company’s history”.
Headquartered at the Cube M4 business park on Old Gloucester Road, the firm said it had advanced more than £500m to SMEs across the UK in around 50 sectors, and processed more than 400,000 invoices.
During the period Optimum said it had increased new business by a quarter compared to 2021, and had seen loan book growth of around 60%.
The company also said client turnover had increased by almost 60%, with an additional 44% of cash advanced. It attributed the rise to its existing client base increasing sales and substantial growth in new business.
Chief executive Ant Persse said the business was "extremely proud" to provide "much-needed cash" for businesses.
“It’s great to see that our clients are making more sales, and driving growth, this is a truly positive sign," he said. "We consider our service provision as a launchpad for businesses to succeed despite the global economic downturn and interest rate rises."
Mr Persse said the half-a-billion-pound milestone the firm had reached this year was testament to the "reliability" of the company in providing funding to other firms in need. He added: "I’m confident that we will continue this growth trend into 2023 and beyond.”
Optimum, which is backed by London private equity firm JRJ Group, forecasted continued momentum for the remainder of the year, predicting its client portfolios to finish would be 45% higher than the second half of 2021 and new client volumes up almost 40%.
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