Crowdstacker-backed Amicus toasts Taunton Cider Company deal

SPECIALIST lender Amicus Commercial Finance has announced it will provide a confidential invoice discounting facility to The Taunton Cider Company.

Amicus is a bridging lender which peer-to-peer investors can lend to via Crowdstacker. Amicus has raised more than £15m through Crowdstacker since the fourth quarter of 2015.

Amicus said that the financing will help the business receive capital against sales invoices before payments are actually received. It said that its “intelligent cashflow” system is particularly attractive to businesses with a turnover between £1m and £20m.

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The Taunton Cider Company dates back to 1911 when a local clergyman began making cider from locally-produced apples. It is best known for being the developer and producer of Blackthorn Cider, and at the time of its sale in 1995 was the second-largest cider manufacturer in the UK.

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“We’re seeing an increasing number of well-established firms turning to alternative sources of financing like invoice discounting,” said Simon Carter, commercial director at Amicus.

“As working capital and cashflow are by their very nature dynamic, most traditional mainstream systems have failed to keep pace over the last few years.

“We have taken a fresh, tech-driven approach that builds on some of the lessons learned in the fast growing alternative finance sector. Our goal has been to combine deep sector experience with a high-touch personal service and cutting edge technology to make the process as straightforward and efficient as possible for SMEs.”

Read more: P2P lenders helped British Business Bank fund £717m of SME loans last year