Business finance firm MarketInvoice has now advanced £2 billion worth of invoice finance and business loans to UK companies.

Launched in 2011, MarketInvoice has provided business finance solutions to thousands of businesses across the UK who employ more than 19,000 people. During this time over 90,000 invoices have been funded to 93 countries.

The first £1 billion was achieved after five years of trading and the second £1 billion took 14 months to reach. During this time, two new products were launched: confidential invoice discounting and business loans. These helped MarketInvoice provide funding worth £714.2m to business in 2017 up from £410.4m in 2016 (up 74%).

2017 saw MarketInvoice support businesses requiring larger funding levels. The average annual amount funded to the businesses almost doubled from £606,000 in 2016 to £1.14m in 2017. Also, the average value of invoices funded was £96,597, up from £56,495 in the same period. £6,450 was funded every minute to UK businesses, up almost threefold from 2016 levels (£2,196). MarketInvoice recently also launched a business loans solution targeted at smaller businesses. Since November 2017, loan volume has almost trebled from £1m to £2.8m in less than five months. The average loan value advanced currently is £38,000.

Anil Stocker, CEO and co-founder of MarketInvoice, said: “2017 was a productive year for MarketInvoice and we look forward to the next billion landmark before the end of the year. Reaching the £2b milestone is testament to the trust businesses place in our solutions and the customer service we have built our brand on. We are now servicing larger business with bigger funding requirements. Our growing institutional investor base on the platform has enabled us to support a broader pool of businesses.

“The launch of our business loans and our confidential invoice discounting solution has come at a time when awareness and adoption of alternative finance options is increasing. It’s great to see businesses choosing diversity in funding source. Moreover, the invoice finance and asset-based lending sector is providing more finance to UK businesses than ever before. Funding volumes are up 13% year on year and stand at just over £22 billion. This is the highest figure ever.

“Our aim is to build tech-led funding solutions that are the fastest to set up and easiest to use in the market. Open Banking presents an unrivalled opportunity for us to increase speed at which business can be funded and to create innovative pathways to solving the biggest issues for businesses in the UK; available cash flow.”