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• 19 Apr

  The Association Of British Factors 1989 To 1990

  

  Receivables financing has come a long way since I started my career in the late 1980s. I recently came across my notes from the Association Of British Factors certificate course. This was from the course that I took back in 1990 - 1992. I then subsequently took the ABF Diploma after that.

  These were some interesting points about the ABF that I had jotted down.

  Association Of British Factors 1989 To 1990

  The Association of British Factors (ABF) was the industry body for receivables financing in the UK back then. It subsequently became the ABFA (Asset Based Financing Association) and is now part of UK Finance.

  Amongst my ABF certificate notes, there was a list of the then 11 members that made up the ABF:

  1. Alex Lawrie Factors
  2. Barclays Commercial Services
  3. Century Factors
  4. Griffin Factors
  5. H & H Factors
  6. Hill Samuel Commercial Finance
  7. International Factors
  8. Kellock
  9. Lombard NatWest Commercial Services
  10. RoyScot Factors
  11. Security Pacific

  Many of those names have long disappeared from our sector or changed their names as part of various acquisitions and mergers over time. Although some of these entities still exist, none of them has retained the same name.

  It is also striking the number of receivables financing companies now operating in the UK. My latest count has over a hundred, of which many are now members of UK Finance. There are also a number of providers that sit outside of UK Finance. These numbers have grown significantly in recent years as many have sought to enter the UK receivables financing market in search of improved returns on their investment capital.

  Client Numbers

  I was equally surprised to find a note of the total client numbers at that time. Apparently, across the ABF there were 8,130 clients in June 1990, an increase from the 6,926 in 1989. These numbers have increased substantially since that time. Regrettably, equivalent figures are no longer made available outside the UK Finance membership.

  By Glenn Blackman