MarketFinance to help firms pay furloughed staff while awaiting reclaimed funds

MarketFinance has repurposed its invoice finance technology to allow small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access finance to pay wages, while applying for the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS).

Under CJRS, businesses must pay staff and then reclaim the money from HMRC online starting this week.

However, firms are not expected to start receiving rebates until at least the end of April, and maybe even longer.

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The business finance platform is aiming to fill this gap by letting businesses apply for facilities of up to £150,000, based on HMRC payroll rebates, rather than the traditional method of invoices.

The platform said there is a potential £20bn cashflow gap facing SMEs, based on the estimated eight million furloughed employees having the maximum £2,500 of their monthly salary eventually covered by CJRS.

“With April’s payday looming, it is essential that the HMRC application process is smooth and that payments are made as soon as possible,” Anil Stocker (pictured), chief executive at MarketFinance, said.

“Any delay would exacerbate the cash crisis many companies are facing and could threaten jobs and the survival of these businesses.

“We’ve been advancing cash to businesses since 2011 against invoices with long payment terms. We have perfected this model over the years and, now, in less than 48 hours have quickly adapted our model to meet the current needs of business.

“These vulnerable businesses, already very short on cash in the bank, will face yet another pressure by having to pay salaries for furloughed employees and then reclaim it days later.”

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