Invoice finance provider Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has increased funding for corporate businesses in the Midlands region by more than 160% since the beginning of the year.

In 2016 so far BFS’s Midlands Corporate team has structured 24 new funding packages in the region compared with nine in the same period during 2015. The BFS Corporate team is responsible for developing opportunities for larger SMEs requiring finance packages from £1M – £13M. Since its formation, the team has structured more than 420 deals across the UK.

Ben Smith, BFS’s head of corporate for the Midlands region, said that despite business uncertainty following the EU referendum, larger SMEs are continuing to seek working capital to grow.

He explained: “The significant growth in our funding support for corporate SMEs in the region demonstrates that, despite initial apprehension following June’s referendum, UK businesses still have a strong appetite to access funding to grow.

“Specifically, we have seen increasing demand for working capital from those in manufacturing, automotive and construction sectors, which is a positive sign for the local economy. We have also witnessed a growing number of businesses in the region looking to release capital against assets such as plant/machinery and stock as well as receivables.

“Our strength lies in the relationships we build with our clients and intermediary partners alike. This large upswing in performance in the region has been enabled by our growing product portfolio, which now includes foreign exchange, asset finance and inventory funding building on our strong invoice finance heritage.

“We have a strong flow of opportunities in the pipeline and, as we move into the winter months, expect to see further growth in corporate deal numbers as larger SMEs look to prepare themselves financially for 2017 and beyond.”