Invoice Finance Charges
Analysis - May 2026

May 2026 recorded 366 new IF charges, down 73 versus May 2025 (-16.6%). Prior May totals: 2022 (384), 2023 (454), 2024 (434), 2025 (439). The cumulative year-to-date figure stood at 1,945, down 146 from the prior year (2,091) - a 7.0% deficit. However, the headline comparison is materially distorted by the 2025 ABN Amro book transfer (approximately 176 charges recorded across several months) and an HSBC-to-4SYTE cohort migration of around 11 charges. Stripping these out, the underlying 2025 Jan-May equivalent is approximately 1,904, leaving 2026 modestly ahead on a like-for-like basis. The May month-on-month like-for-like decline is closer to -13%.

Banks recovered slightly to 82 (+3 vs May 2025), though their cumulative YTD deficit stands at -86 versus the prior year. RBS Invoice Finance was the strongest bank at 32 (+8), while Lloyds continued its structural decline at 30 (-2). The cumulative Lloyds shortfall of -63 reflects their well-documented withdrawal from smaller SME lending.

Large independents fell to 170 (-30), with Bibby Finance maintaining the volume lead at 60 (+2) and a cumulative YTD of 297 (+34). eCapital pulled back to 28 (-9) after April's surge, though combined with the transferred Optimum SME Finance book their net position is broadly flat year-on-year. Skipton Business Finance fell sharply to 11 (-8), and Pulse Cashflow (which had recorded 10 in May 2025) recorded zero, likely reflecting a timing or data anomaly in the prior period.

Mid-tier independents fell to 87 (-21 vs May 2025), primarily driven by 4SYTE's sharp decline to 13 (-15) and Optimum's zero activity following the eCapital acquisition. Wedo Finance was the standout, surging to 15 (+13) - their strongest month on record - while Apollo Business Finance continued its strong run at 22 (+4), cumulative YTD 115 (+42). Sallyport Commercial Finance grew to 7 (+6) and Shire Invoice Finance to 4 (+2). The specialist cohort contracted significantly to 15 (-21), with Zodeq falling to 4 (-11) and Sonovate recording zero after the previous month's spike.

This report analyses new invoice finance charges registered at Companies House and included in the dataset to 8 June 2026.

• IF Charges are identified where the charge-holder name or the nature of the charge is consistent with an invoice finance facility. This analysis covers lenders where a sufficiently strong pattern can be identified - certain high-street banks (Barclays, Santander etc.) are excluded where identification is not reliable.
• Adjusted comparisons strip out known book transfers and cohort migrations from the prior year (notably the ABN Amro book transfer in 2025 and an HSBC-to-4SYTE cohort migration) to provide a like-for-like view of underlying market activity.
• Regions are Spark sales regions, allocated by AI based on HMRC or Companies House registered address.
• Refactor rates are based on specific IF charge successions - where a new IF charge follows discharge of an existing facility within a defined window, or where an existing bank charge remains open at the time of the new IF charge.
• Group charges (where a single charge covers multiple group companies) are counted as one charge for the purposes of this analysis.
• Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.