Scottish Pacific Business Finance has announced that SMEs are now able to apply for its standalone trade finance facility, ‘Tradeline’, without having to sign a personal guarantee.

The Australian-headquartered lender launched in the UK in 2015, offering support to SMEs looking to enhance their international buying power and improve cash flow. Its Tradeline facility allows businesses to order raw materials and finished goods from domestic and overseas suppliers and pay the invoice up to 90 days later.

It says the removal of the personal guarantee makes it easier for companies to access Scottish Pacific’s facilities, which in turn will allow the lender to grow the number of businesses it supports across the UK.

The Tradeline facility ranges from £25,000 to £1m. A client recently used their new $100,000 Tradeline facility to buy stock from their supplier ahead of the Chinese New Year shutdown. Without this facility they would have missed out on extra sales in February and March whilst they waited for the suppliers factories to re-open.

Ben Milner, business development manager (North) at Scottish Pacific Business Finance, said: “This presents a huge opportunity for us in the UK market. Not all business owners are willing or able to provide a personal guarantee and this can exclude them from certain funding options.

“The flexibility of our offering provides a real point of difference in the market, and we’re now able to serve a much wider breadth of companies.

“We’re confident this change will be well received by our clients and introducers and will have a hugely positive impact on our UK operations.”