Food & drink production

Invoice finance for food & drink production.

Ingredients, packaging and production get paid upfront. Supermarkets and wholesalers pay on 60 to 90 day terms. Invoice finance releases the cash from your sales ledger so you can fund the next production run now.

85%

Typical advance

24 hours

Time to funds

£350k

Min turnover

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UK food and drink production line with workers and packaged goods on a conveyor

Why invoice finance works for food & drink production.

✓Raw ingredients, packaging and labour are paid upfront while retailers and wholesalers settle weeks later, and invoice finance bridges that gap.
✓Producers supplying supermarkets, wholesalers and foodservice hold large, recurring sales ledgers that lenders can advance against reliably.
✓The facility flexes with seasonal and promotional peaks, so more cash is released exactly when order volumes spike.
✓Trade or stock finance can sit alongside invoice finance to fund the ingredient and packaging purchase before the goods are even made.

Typical facility for a food & drink production business.

Typical facility

Food & drink production

Turnover£4m

Advance rate85%

Monthly drawdown£280k

A chilled food producer invoicing £4m a year to two supermarket accounts typically draws around £280k a month at 85%, covering the next ingredient and packaging order while it waits on 75 day retailer terms.

What lenders look for.

The specifics that make or break a facility in this sector.

Supermarket deductions and contra

Retailers routinely take settlement discounts, listing fees, marketing levies and promotional funding off the invoice. Lenders advance against the amount you will actually be paid, so a clean deductions record protects your funding line.

Dilution and credit notes

Short deliveries, rejections and rebates create credit notes that reduce the ledger value. Underwriters measure this dilution rate and set the advance percentage against it, so tight quality and delivery control lifts your rate.

Seasonality and promotional peaks

Christmas, summer and multi-buy promotions send order volumes up sharply then back down. Facilities are sized to flex with these peaks rather than a flat monthly average.

Debtor concentration on major retailers

Two or three supermarkets often make up most of the ledger. A single account over 40% usually triggers a concentration limit, though specialist food lenders can stretch this against strong, named blue-chip debtors.

Model your facility.

Move the slider to your typical invoice value to see what would hit your account and what it would cost.

Invoice estimate

What's your invoice worth?

£50,000

£5k£500k

Released to you now£47,500

Held back until your customer pays£2,500

Time to fundsas little as 24 hours

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No obligation. Speak to your broker for tailored terms.

The right lenders for food & drink production.

We benchmark your facility across a panel of specialist invoice finance and revolving credit lenders, and match you with the ones whose appetite fits food & drink production. You get whole-of-market access from one conversation, at no cost to you.

Common questions.

Lenders advance against the net amount you will actually receive after settlement discounts, listing fees and marketing levies. A clear record of what each retailer deducts keeps your advance rate stable and predictable.