UK: URICA launches new service at GrowQuip

URICA, the government-backed early payment network for SMEs, is one of the sponsors of GrowQuip 2016 and will be joining forces with the CHA to launch a new service to the association’s members at the event.

URICA helps businesses of all sizes, across all sectors, get access to supply chain finance, early payments and import finance. Through URICA, CHA supplier and grower members can use the firm’s online platform, enabling them to get their customer invoices paid in cash as early as the day after approval. URICA’s unique early payment offering means businesses can trade on the terms that suit their business. All businesses need to do is select their invoices and send them online via URICA, and receive cash payment on those invoices once URICA has confirmed payment from the customer. The customer then pays URICA the entire value of the invoice, up to 90 days after the original invoice date. In total, URICA is now in the position to pay CHA’s members a total of £6,400,000 in cash. For those businesses, there is no risk, zero debt, and no fear of late or non-payment of their invoices any longer.

A critical advantage of URICA’s support for CHA members is access to their global partners, and in particular Euler Hermes for credit checking of existing and new customers, helping protect their businesses from commercial risks. This partnership with URICA offers CHA members cutting-edge solutions to finance, risk and credit insurance.

One supplier that has already experienced the value of the URICA service started using URICA when it began supplying a national UK retail chain with their products, in the autumn of 2015. Having explored using another finance product in order to get early payment on their invoices, the firm found it to be too difficult to work with, lacking in flexibility and quite expensive. “The URICA service has proved to be just the opposite”, says Mark Herchel. “With URICA, it’s been a very good working relationship and more favourable for businesses. I would highly recommend them to anyone. We can adjust every invoice according to how strong or weak our cash flow is and URICA releases 100 per cent of the cash in the invoice. Everything with URICA feels almost immediate and there’s always a person there on the other end of a phone or email. The one thing that URICA is not, is complicated – that’s for sure. It’s an easy, flexible system which just makes sense. For the fee that I’m paying, which is such a small percentage of the invoice value, it makes sense, feels right, and I don’t feel bad spending the money on such a good service for the business. It’s all about cash flow for us.”

Members of the URICA team will be at GrowQuip to provide CHA association members and potential members with details of the scheme.

Of the partnership, Lindsay Whitelaw, Founder & Chairman of URICA, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the CHA to help its members grow and thrive. In an increasingly tough and globalised economy, and with the banks unable to provide the support that is needed, we aim to make sure smaller businesses can grow, employ more staff, export and thrive, but freeing them from the burden of late payment.”

GrowQuip is the cross-industry commercial horticultural conference focusing on the key issues facing growers of fruit, vegetables, salads and ornamentals, and will take place for the first time in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire from 26-27 October 2016.

The subsidised, all inclusive package for delegates of £259 plus VAT includes entrance to the conference, lunch, dinner with an after dinner speaker, overnight accommodation at Stratford Manor Hotel, and breakfast and lunch on the second day plus refreshments during the event.

Contact Pat Flynn for details and to book your places at the conference, dinner or your exhibition presence. E-mail Pat@cha-hort.com or ring Pat on 07778 313623 or Gemma Chandler on 01959 565995.