Fund the stock before you've sold it
Trade and import finance pays your suppliers, at home or overseas, so you can fulfil orders without tying up your own cash while goods are in transit or sitting on the shelf. Comparing offers starts with a soft search that leaves no mark on your credit score, so you can see what's realistic before you commit to anything.
The funding follows the goods.
This is not a general loan sitting over your business. It is tied to real transactions, which is why the amount available moves up and down with your buying rather than being fixed at the start. A funding partner will typically fund a proportion of a purchase order or stock value rather than the whole amount.
Import finance
The funding partner settles the supplier invoice on your behalf, at home or overseas, so production and shipment can start without the full cost leaving your account first.
Purchase-order finance
Funding against confirmed customer orders you could not otherwise fulfil. The order is the reason the money exists, and the sale it produces is what repays it.
Inventory and stock finance
Funding secured against goods you already hold. Where a facility is secured against stock or other assets, that security may be at risk if repayments are not maintained, so be clear on what is being pledged before you proceed.
Facilities often run from a few thousand for smaller, frequent orders up to several hundred thousand or more for established importers moving significant volumes. Every rate, limit and term sits with the individual funding partner and is subject to their approval. Capvant is a marketplace and introducer, not a lender.
Drawn when you buy, gone when you are paid.
Terms follow the trade cycle instead of a long fixed schedule. Many facilities are short and revolving, designed to be drawn when you place an order and repaid once the resulting sale is paid for, then used again for the next batch. That keeps the finance in step with how money actually moves through a product business.
In step with the buying
Because the facility follows real orders, what you can draw rises with the volume you are moving rather than being set once and left. The stock is the reason the money exists.
Costed by the weeks, not the years
Pricing is charged over the period the money is outstanding, so you are paying only across the weeks the goods are in transit, in stock or awaiting payment.
Sized by the goods and the turnover
Amounts are generally sized around the value of what is being funded and your wider turnover, which is why the orders and inventory in front of you shape what is available.
One request puts trade and import finance offers side by side, and looking is a soft search that leaves no mark on your credit score.
Will the goods sell, and will the cash come back?
That is the question underneath every trade finance decision. The signals that most often shape an offer are the ones that answer it, rather than any single score on its own.
The strength of your buyers and orders
A confirmed order from a solid buyer, or a track record of selling similar stock, tends to carry more weight than any single financial metric on its own. Funding partners want a clear and credible path from the goods to the money coming back.
Your suppliers and the goods themselves
Supplier track record and the type of goods being funded both matter, because the funding follows a real transaction rather than sitting over the business in general.
Turnover, trading history and margins
The practical health of the business still counts. Funding partners like to see that you understand your own costs, margins and lead times, and how well your stock converts into paid sales.
The length of your trade cycle
Typical lead times and shipping windows shape how long the money is out and therefore what the facility costs across the cycle. Pricing is normally charged as a fee or rate over the period the money is outstanding.
Credit, as part of the picture
Credit history is part of it but rarely the whole story. The initial comparison is a soft search that leaves no mark on your profile, and a full credit check only happens if you choose to accept an offer and move forward.
Where in the cycle is your cash actually stuck?
Trade and import finance is built for businesses whose cash gets locked up in stock before it turns into sales: importers paying overseas suppliers ahead of shipment, wholesalers and distributors buying in volume, and product businesses growing faster than their own reserves comfortably support. If your money is stuck somewhere else in the cycle, another shape fits better, and one request lines them all up anyway.
Your cash is stuck in unpaid customer invoices
If the goods are already delivered and you are waiting on someone else’s payment run, releasing cash from the sales ledger deals with that end of the cycle directly. Compare invoice finance.
You need general flexibility, not order-by-order funding
When the squeeze is payroll, rent and running costs rather than a specific shipment, working capital funding is the more natural shape. Compare working capital.
It is one bulk purchase, not a repeating cycle
A single defined buy with a clear end date can sit perfectly well on a short-term loan, in and out inside months, with nothing left running afterwards. Compare short-term business loans.
You are funding the warehouse, not the stock in it
Premises, plant or a long-lived investment sit better against security, where a charge over an asset opens larger sums and longer terms. Compare secured business loans.
It suits companies with a clear, repeatable trade cycle and identifiable buyers rather than very early-stage ventures with no order history or businesses that mainly sell services. You can see the whole range on the funding types Capvant covers.
Pick the range the next order needs and see which funding partners would support it.
A supplier waiting on payment sets the pace.
Because this funding is tied to specific orders and goods, funding partners are used to working to a deadline. An early soft-search comparison surfaces realistic options before you have committed to anything or touched your credit score, which matters when production only starts once the supplier is paid.
How long full approval takes then depends on the funding partner and the detail behind the deal, such as verifying the order, the supplier and the goods. Straightforward, well-documented purchases with clear buyers tend to move fastest, while larger or more complex imports need more checks around shipping, insurance and the parties involved.
Timing always sits with the individual funding partner and is subject to approval, so treat any speed as indicative rather than guaranteed. There are no guarantees of approval. The full path is set out on how Capvant works.
- The purchase order or supplier invoice you need funded
- Details of the buyer or the confirmed customer order behind it
- Recent accounts and business bank statements
- Your typical lead times, shipping windows and margins
Instead of applying to funding partners one at a time, you compare suitable options together and take a single one forward to a full application.
Frequently asked questions
What is trade & import finance?
Pay your suppliers now, sell the stock, and settle up once your customers pay, trade and import finance bridges the gap so a big order never means a cash-flow crunch. Through Capvant you compare trade & import finance offers from multiple funding partners in one place, then choose what works for your business.
How much can I borrow?
Amounts depend on your trading history, turnover and the offers our partners make. Many businesses access £5,000 to £500,000 and beyond.
Will checking my options affect my credit score?
No. Seeing your options through Capvant is a soft search, so it leaves no mark on your credit file. A lender only runs a full credit check if you decide to accept an offer.
Is Capvant a lender?
No. Capvant is a funding marketplace, we match you with funding partners and you choose the offer that suits you. Funding decisions, rates and terms are set by the lender, subject to approval.
How fast can I get funded?
Once you accept an offer, many businesses receive funds within a few working days, some products fund same day.
Let the goods pay for themselves.
One request brings back competing trade & import finance offers against your own orders and stock, and looking leaves your credit score exactly where it is.
No obligation. Checking your offers won’t affect your credit score.
Disclaimers & footnotes
- 1Capvant is a funding marketplace, not a lender. We match business owners with third-party funding partners; we do not make credit decisions, lend money, or set rates or terms. All funding decisions, rates, terms and approvals are made solely by the lenders in our network, subject to their criteria.
- 2Checking your options through Capvant does not affect your credit score. A lender may carry out a soft or hard credit search depending on the product, stage and your consent. A full hard credit check is only carried out where required by a lender before you proceed.
- 3Funding speed, including any reference to funding in as little as 24 hours, is typical for some products and lenders and is not guaranteed. Actual timescales depend on the lender, the product, and how quickly requested information and documents are provided.
- 4Funding amounts and ranges are indicative only and vary with your business profile, trading history, the lender and the market. Figures shown are not an offer of finance and do not guarantee any particular amount, rate or approval.
- 5Any offers, rates or repayment figures shown in illustrations or examples are for demonstration only and are not real quotes. Your actual offers, if any, are provided by lenders and are subject to approval.
- 6Product availability varies by market. Some products are only available in certain countries. Capvant currently serves businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Capvant is not a lender and does not make credit decisions, we introduce businesses to third-party funding providers. Capvant is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Capvant does not compare every lender, broker, funding product or offer available in the market. We only show options from funding partners in our network that may be relevant based on the information you provide.
Capvant may receive compensation from lenders, brokers, funding partners or referral partners when a customer is introduced, approved, funded or takes another qualifying action. This compensation does not guarantee that any lender will approve an application or offer specific terms. Capvant does not charge business owners a fee to compare funding options unless clearly stated otherwise.
If you access Capvant through a partner, introducer or embedded funding page, that partner may receive a referral fee or commission if your request results in funding. This does not increase your cost unless expressly disclosed.
Capvant is intended for business-purpose funding only. Eligibility may depend on entity type, location, trading history, revenue, industry and lender criteria. In the UK, Capvant currently focuses on limited companies, LLPs and plcs, and does not currently support sole traders or ordinary partnerships.
Information on Capvant is general information only and is not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. You should consider whether funding is suitable for your business and seek professional advice where appropriate.
Calculators, eligibility checkers and funding-readiness tools are estimates only. They are based on limited information and assumptions, and do not represent a credit decision, quote, approval or recommendation.
Company information may be sourced from public registers such as Companies House, or from information you provide. Public register data may be incomplete, delayed or inaccurate and should not be treated as a full credit assessment.
The Business Credit Score by Capvant is an independent statistical assessment based on public register data. It is not provided by a credit reference agency and may differ from scores used by individual lenders.
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Some US commercial financing offers may be subject to state-specific disclosure requirements. Where required, additional disclosures will be provided and must be accepted before a transaction is finalised.