The client are a construction, design and project management company established in the 1930’s with a turnover of approaching £100M per year.

The business operates in a sector defined by low margins and a high level of competition. They are always looking for ways to improve supplier relationships and competitive edge, without necessarily impacting their clients.

It was important that the facility for this client was as flexible as possible. Because Woodsford Tradebridge are privately funded, we were able to tailor a flexible management approach to the facility.

Access to an additional on-call and discretionary funding line, allowed genuine improvements to the bottom line. By utilising the working capital facility, the client was able to always (rather than occasionally) meet supplier requests for early payment. The trade-off was the ability to negotiate early payment discounts for this option.

With very fine margins in the business, the client welcomed any opportunity to improve revenue. The Woodsford TradeBridge facility, with an early payment option, allowed them to maximise on the opportunity for supplier discounts – but no one is obligated and everything is voluntary.

You can find out more about this finance solution and how it could help your business on our turnaround and margin improvement page.

The value of subcontractor relationships – case study

Who are Osborne?

“Osborne is a family owned construction services business, ranked as one of the top 50 main contractors in the UK.

We are a diverse company that works across various sectors.

We are trusted partners for our clients and throughout our supply chain network.”

Why Woodsford TradeBridge?

“Woodsford TradeBridge offered a supply chain finance facility that was flexible for our needs. It has helped us build stronger relationships with a core of subcontractors who value it and are repeat customers every month.

We use the facility to support our subcontractors’ cash flow in an affordable way so their own businesses can thrive, and they can continue to perform well for us.”

What’s your biggest challenge?

“We’re committed to improving and reducing payment terms throughout the supply chain, as evidenced by our commitment to the government’s Prompt Payment Code. This can be a challenge, but the types of finance available are slowly evolving.”

For more information on how Woodford TradeBridge supports Osborne, download the full case study:

The client are a multi-million $ digital marketing services company. They are leaders in the mining and manipulation of big data in the retail finance and travel sectors, generating leads for some of the world’s best known retailers.

They are required to pay up-front for work carried out on behalf of their clients (for example, funding Google Ad Words) resulting in a significant gap between the outgoing funds and payment from their end customer.

Woodsford TradeBridge provide a facility to bridge this gap and pay their supplier invoices as they fall due. This stabilises the client’s cashflow and allows the business to concentrate on growth.

You can find out more about this finance solution and how it could help your business on our Growth page.

Controlling project cashflows – case study

Who is the client?

“We are a diversified construction company that spans across a range of construction activities. We deliver integrated construction solutions for many of the biggest names in UK construction, as well as running our own turnkey projects.

In less than 2 decades, we have gone from start-up to having a £200 million turnover.”

Why Woodsford TradeBridge?

“Working closely with Woodsford TradeBridge, we put together a supplier early payment programme to provide our project teams with a flexible tool for negotiating with suppliers and subcontractors.

Paying suppliers faster comes at a cost, our Woodsford TradeBridge facility gives the project team the flexibility to bridge this gap with a predefined cost of finance, ensuring we are not compromising overall performance to meet cashflow targets.”

What’s your biggest opportunity?

“As our business grows, and with Woodsford TradeBridge’s support we hope to continue to innovate. The next step for us is to develop the programme to further empower each of the group companies to optimise their own financial performance.

Our aim is to flexibly deploy a substantial amount of our own cash through the programme, enabling us to capture even more of the benefit without sacrificing control of our treasury function.”

Releasing capital to support supplier growth – case study

Who is the client?

“We are a growing food service business with a strong background in the dairy sector.

We work with more than 1,600 nursing homes, hospitals, schools and office blocks in London and the South of England supplying large deliveries of milk products and other very high-quality products.”

Why Woodsford TradeBridge?

“Working closely with Woodsford TradeBridge, we implemented a supplier-led supply chain finance facility that allows us to strengthen our supplier relationships through a prompt payment programme.

With this additional working capital, supplier growth can be aligned with the growth of our business. Suppliers can use their improved cash flow position to fund growth in infrastructure, expand their logistical fleet and improve general operations.”

What’s your biggest opportunity?

“As our business grows, we are looking to focus on expanding our services to the North of England. With the implementation of a new distribution hub in Manchester, we will have the abilty to cover about 80% of the Britsh population.”