Ultimate Finance provides £750k facility to NHS supplier Forma-Care

Ultimate Finance has provided a £750,000 invoice finance facility to specialist NHS supplier Forma-Care (UK) Ltd, helping the business address working capital pressures and maintain stock purchasing and order fulfilment.

Founded in 2019, Forma-Care supplies adult incontinence products to the UK healthcare sector, working with purchasing departments and clinical nurses and maintaining a debtor book primarily made up of NHS customers.

The company is entirely focused on supplying the NHS, with its product range spanning four categories – Premium, Sensitive, Comfort and Easy – designed to meet differing patient and healthcare requirements.

Despite the business’s strategy and margins remaining on track, sales to the NHS were lower than anticipated. Forma-Care’s existing lender subsequently reduced the level of pre-payment available to the company, tightening access to working capital.

The reduced availability put pressure on Forma-Care’s ability to purchase stock and fulfil NHS orders, prompting the business to seek an alternative funding partner capable of accommodating its concentrated NHS debtor book.

Sarah Harrison, Regional Director at Ultimate Finance, said: “When a lender tightens availability, it’s rarely just a funding issue – it becomes an operational issue.

“Forma-Care needed a funding partner that understood the rhythm of NHS trading and could provide the headroom required to keep stock flowing and orders fulfilled.”

Ultimate Finance provided the £750,000 invoice finance facility to increase the working capital available to Forma-Care and reduce the restrictions it had experienced with its previous provider.

A key consideration was the company’s 100% concentration on NHS debt, which Ultimate Finance assessed alongside the quality of the ledger and Forma-Care’s operational controls.

Harrison explained: “A concentrated debtor book can make some funders nervous. Our job is to look beyond the headline and understand the quality of the ledger, the operational controls, and what the funding is actually enabling – in this case, continuity of supply into the NHS.”

Ultimate Finance also managed the inter-factor transfer to minimise disruption and took what it described as a commercial underwriting approach to structuring the facility around Forma-Care’s working capital requirements.

The lender will continue to support the company through dedicated relationship management, with the facility expected to evolve alongside the business.

With the new funding in place, Forma-Care has been able to relieve the immediate working capital pressure created by the reduction in availability from its previous lender, supporting continued stock purchases and the fulfilment of NHS orders.

The company now plans to continue its exclusive focus on the NHS while targeting more than £10 million in revenue in the near term.

Harrison concluded: “This is exactly what invoice finance should do: keep business moving while management focuses on execution. As Forma-Care drives towards its next revenue milestone, we’ll stay close – making sure the funding continues to match the ambition.”